HOME DEPARTMENT

Entry Clearances

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to ensure that applications for visa extensions are processed in a timely manner.

Mark Harper: Since April 2012 the UK Border Agency has experienced a higher than forecast intake of visa extension applications.
	The UK Border Agency is deploying additional resource and increasing casework productivity to tackle this intake and it aims to be processing visa extensions within agreed service standards by April 2013.

UK Border Agency

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much compensation the UK Border Agency has paid out in compensation for lost documents in each year since 2009.

Mark Harper: The information is not held in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

TRANSPORT

Bus Services: Information and Communications Technology

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess the compliance cost of legislating to require all new buses to be fitted with on board audio-visual systems; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: As part of the Government's Olympic and Paralympic legacy, we are currently looking at a number of ways of improving the accessibility of public transport. This will include looking into the costs of installing audio-visual systems on new buses. Current estimates for the cost of installing audio visual systems on new buses range from £2,050 - £3,500 per bus, depending on the type of system. There are also annual running and maintenance costs associated with some systems of approximately £930 per bus.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the oral contribution of the right hon. Member for Putney of 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 41, on High Speed 2, what progress his Department has made on developing plans for wildlife corridors and biodiversity offsets in the area surrounding the route of High Speed 2.

Simon Burns: The Government are determined to ensure that HS2 is an environmentally responsible project. Both I and HS2 Ltd meet regularly with environmental groups to discuss the environmental opportunities that HS2 could offer, including the concept of a "green corridor" and biodiversity offsetting.
	HS2 Ltd is also carrying out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the route. The data collected, together with feedback from community and environmental groups, will allow us to firmly identify suitable environmental opportunities. Options include new tree planting, wildlife habitat creation and landscaping that would help to protect the natural beauty of our countryside.
	We will consult on the initial findings from the EIA as well as the latest refinements to the construction of the route in spring 2013.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the decision to re-run the bid process on the West Coast Main Line franchise will affect his Department's analysis of the business case for High Speed 2.

Simon Burns: The issues which have led to the cancellation of the Intercity West Coast franchise competition are unrelated to any work done on High Speed 2. The HS2 business case has undergone an extensive quality assurance process and we are confident that it is accurate. Work continues to bring forward legislation on HS2 next year as planned.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has received to connect High Speed 2 to the proposed western connection at Heathrow.

Simon Burns: In March 2012 HS2 Ltd provided advice on route options for Phase 2 of High Speed 2, which included options for serving Heathrow. We are currently considering that advice.

Railways: Compensation

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the amount of money paid by Network Rail to train operating companies in compensation for delays; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: Compensation paid to train operators for delays for which Network Rail is responsible (including those arising from external events such as cable theft) is a matter for Network Rail. The compensation regime is a contractual and commercially confidential element within the Track Access Agreement between Network Rail and each operator, and is overseen by the Office for Rail Regulation.

Railways: Compensation

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the (a) level and (b) availability of compensation offered to rail passengers who are subject to delay; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: All Train Operating Companies (TOCs) are required under their franchise agreement to have in place a Passenger's Charter which contains details of the level of compensation and its availability (how to claim). In their Passenger's Charters, TOCs will operate one of two compensation regimes: Delay Repay or Traditional Charter. Delay/Repay is the name used to describe the improved system of compensation for all passengers (including all season ticket holders) based on delays to individual journeys which is being introduced as franchises are replaced.
	For TOCs which have Delay/Repay in their Passenger's Charter, passengers are entitled to claim compensation for each delay of more than 30 minutes which they experience. The entitlement (which is more generous than that which applied under the Traditional Charter regime) includes 50% compensation of the single fare for delays of 30 to 59 minutes and 100% of the single fare for delays of more than 60 minutes.
	For TOCs which operate Traditional Charter in their Passenger's Charter, separate arrangements apply for holders of season tickets valid between 1 month and 1 year based on poor performance discounts, and for passengers with single, return and weekly season tickets based on delays to individual journeys. There is no entitlement to compensation for delays outside the control of the rail industry.
	Further details of individual TOCs compensation regimes are available on their websites.

Roads: Animals

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has any plans to implement wildlife crossings in particularly hazardous areas.

Stephen Hammond: The Highways Agency has plans for a range of wildlife crossings as part of the construction, improvement and operation of the Strategic Road Network (SRN). Where appropriate, these measures are designed to reduce the potential risk of incidental mortality to animals gaining access to the network and/or to avoid/reduce the potential fragmentation effects of roads. In all of these activities our primary concern is the safety of road users and animal welfare.
	Mitigation measures that have previously been constructed along the SRN include tunnels or ledges for combined (multi-species) use, amphibians, badgers and otters; and bridges for badgers, bats, deer and dormice. These are often also combined with delivering wider benefits such as farm access tracks, and Public Rights of Way.
	The Agency also undertakes research to better understand the effectiveness of such mitigation measures, in order to minimise the number of animal fatalities on the SRN and therefore reduce their impact. Further advice is published in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges available online at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/ha/standards/dmrb/index.htm

Roads: Snow and Ice

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to ensure that the road system is ready for severe weather conditions in winter 2012-13.

Norman Baker: I wrote to all hon. Members on 23 November 2012 setting out the steps that the Department for Transport and the wider transport sector have taken in advance of any possible severe winter weather. I have arranged for a copy of this letter to be placed in both Libraries of the House.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Epilepsy

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department last issued guidance on epilepsy to medical services.

Mark Hoban: Atos Healthcare issued an evidence based protocol on epilepsy to all their healthcare professionals in January 2012.

Farms: Fatalities

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many deaths have occurred on farms in England and Wales in each of the last three years; and what the causes were of such deaths.

Mark Hoban: The Health and Safety Executive holds details of fatal injuries to workers and members of the public on farms reported to it under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).
	Details of the number of deaths involving workers and members of the public in agriculture (which includes crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities) in England and Wales in each of the last three years and the primary causes of those deaths are set out as follows:
	
		
			 Reported fatal injuries in agriculture in England and Wales 2009-10 to 2011-12 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12(2) Total 
			 Worker(1) 29 21 23 73 
			 Member of public 5 6 6 17 
			 Grand total 34 27 29 90 
			 (1) The category ‘Worker’ includes employees and the self employed (2) The data for 2011-12 is treated as provisional until April 2013. 
		
	
	
		
			 Causes of reported fatal injuries in agriculture in England and Wales 2009-10 to 2011-12 
			 Cause 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12(1) Grand total 
			 Transport—hit or struck by a moving vehicle 10 5 7 22 
			 Hit or struck by an object 7 6 5 18 
			 Injured by an animal 4 6 4 14 
			 Falls from a height 3 4 2 9 
			 Drowned or asphyxiated 2 — 5 7 
			 Collapse 3 2 — 5 
			 Electricity 1 1 1 3 
			 Contact with moving machinery 2 — — 2 
		
	
	
		
			 Slip or trip 1 1 — 2 
			 Contact with harmful substance 1 — — 1 
			 Contact with (static) machinery — — 1 1 
			 Struck against — — 1 1 
			 Trapped by something collapsing — — 1 1 
			 Other—not elsewhere classified — 2 2 4 
			 Total 34 27 29 90 
			 (1) Provisional

Grants

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what grant-giving programmes are operated by (a) his Department and (b) the bodies for which he is responsible; and which such programmes award grants in Scotland.

Mark Hoban: The grant-giving programmes currently operated by the Department for Work and Pensions are:
	New Enterprise Allowance scheme where DWP has awarded grant funding to the organisations that provide the mentoring element of this scheme;
	Work Clubs and Enterprise Clubs, part of Get Britain Working, which receive grant funding to cover their initial start up costs;
	The Social Fund, where the following grants are available: Community care grants, Sure Start maternity grants, funeral payments, cold weather payments and winter fuel payments;
	Access to work grants which are available to people who are employed, self employed or unemployed and about to start a job or work scheme and who have a disability or health condition;
	Jobcentre Plus has also awarded grants under the Flexible Support Fund to assist claimant's progress towards and secure sustainable employment.
	All of the above operate in Scotland.
	The European Social Fund (ESF) is a grant based programme in part. The Department for Work and Pensions has responsibility for the operation of the ESF programme in England and Gibraltar.
	The Independent Living Fund provides direct payments to users who can then use it to cover costs for a defined list of qualifying support services. These payments are available to people across the UK.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the eligibility rules are to be a postal claimant of jobseeker's allowance.

Mark Hoban: JSA Claimants are offered postal status if they
	have caring responsibilities for a child and are unable to make arrangements for short-term childcare to cover their attendance, for example, during school holidays; or
	live more than one hour, door to door, in either direction, from the nearest jobcentre by using public transport or
	attendance would result in an absence from home in excess of four hours; or
	have a mental or physical disability, which restricts their mobility.
	If no public transport is available, postal status is determined by whether or not the claimant can reasonably be expected to walk from home to the Jobcentre in one hour. Claimants must not be asked to walk more than three miles. This will depend on things like their age, health and the locality.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cash value was for recipients of each passported benefit in each of the last three years; what estimate he has made of the total projected spend on each passported benefit over the next 10 years; and how many people received each passported benefit in the latest year for which figures are available.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not available.

Universal Credit

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 17 September 2012, Official Report, column 535W, on universal credit, what estimate he has made of the number of people who will require transitional protection after the introduction of universal credit; and for how long such protection will continue.

Mark Hoban: The overall number of households receiving transitional protection is subject to the build-up of universal credit caseload and the final policy design. The detailed approach to managing the build-up of universal credit case loads is under development.
	Further details on the circumstances which will affect transitional protection were published by the Department on 4 July.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the calculation of universal credit of the recent announcement by HM Revenue and Customs of the relaxation of the on or before requirement for PAYE real time information submissions.

Mark Hoban: HMRC has made these changes in response to feedback from employers and to avoid imposing a disproportionate administrative burden on those who for business reasons pay their employees at times when an immediate report of earnings data would be very difficult. HMRC expects the relaxation to apply to only a small number of employers. DWP therefore expects the number of universal credit claimants affected to be small and will put in place processes to manage them.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the feasibility of calculating monthly universal credit payments on the basis of PAYE data submitted by employers on the nineteenth day of each month, instead of on or before every payment as in the proposed PAYE Real Time Information system; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: We have considered a range of options for setting the assessment period for universal credit claimants, including the needs of in and out of work claimants and the reporting requirements of employers.
	Universal credit is intended to make work pay and reflect the income available to the claimant. In order to provide effective support, information about earnings needs to be submitted by the employer at the time of the payment.
	Aligning all assessment periods with the nineteenth day of each month would mean delays for many claimants in receiving their first full month's payment.

Work Programme: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions his Department has held with the Scottish Government in the last two months on the training needs of people participating in the Work programme.

Mark Hoban: There have been no discussions with the Scottish Government in the last two months on the training needs of people participating in the Work programme.
	Officials from the Department continue to work with officials from the Scottish Government on ways to reduce unemployment.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Empty Property: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty properties there have been in each local authority area in (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk and (c) Cambridgeshire in each of the last three years.

Mark Prisk: Data on empty homes can be found in live table 615 at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants

Land: Auctions

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether it is his policy that local authorities which are planning authorities should be able to undertake both the land disposal and the land acquisition elements of community land auctions; and if he will make a statement.

Nicholas Boles: The Government are committed to piloting and considering the wider use of Land Auctions. In order for land auctions to work, a local authority would need to be able to both acquire, or take an option on, land and also dispose of that land or option. The purpose of the pilot is to gain an understanding of how the land disposal elements of the model would work in practice.
	Local authorities already have powers to acquire land for planning purposes and dispose of it.

Land: Public Sector

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of the sites owned by the public sector and identified by Government Departments in their local land disposal plans have been sold to date; what the sale value was in each such case; and to whom such sales were made.

Mark Prisk: To free up more surplus land for new housing, the Government are committed to releasing formerly used land, owned by central Government, capable of delivering up to 100,000 homes by April 2015. We have identified surplus land for 100,000 homes and, to date, we have already sold land to support the building of an estimated 33,000 new homes.
	Details on the sale price and buyers of individual sites are held by the respective public bodies which previously owned the land.
	The Homes and Communities Agency is working with Departments to accelerate disposal of surplus public land. This work includes making the land ready for market, developing proposals for a single ‘shop window’ to help with marketing, and encouraging the use of the innovative ‘Build Now, Pay Later’ model.
	The Government are committed to ensuring the swift release of public sector land to allow for the building of new homes. A programme of work is under way and the Government will provide an update on progress at the autumn statement.

Planning Permission: Appeals

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which planning authorities in England in each of the last five years have had (a) fewer than 5%, (b) 5 to 10%, (c) 11 to 15% and (d) 16 to 20 % of major decisions overturned on appeal as a proportion of all major decisions made; and if he will give the specific percentage in each case.

Nicholas Boles: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 25 October 2012, Official Report, column 996W.
	My Department's consultation paper, ‘Planning performance and the planning Guarantee’ (page 12) proposes that my Department will seek to publish quarterly statistics on the extent to which decisions on applications for major development are overturned at appeal.

Planning Permission: Appeals

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which planning authorities in England over the last two years for which information is available have had (a) more than 20% of major decisions overturned on appeal as a proportion of all major decisions made and (b) less than 30% of major applications decided within 13 weeks as a proportion of all major decisions.

Nicholas Boles: Information on which local authorities have had more than 20% of major decisions overturned on appeal is not centrally available—I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 25 October 2012, Official Report, column 996W.
	My Department's consultation paper, ‘Planning performance and the planning guarantee’ (page 12) proposes that my Department will seek to publish quarterly statistics on the extent to which decisions on applications for major development are overturned at appeal.
	The authorities who have made less than 30% of major decisions in 13 weeks in the last two years (2010-11 and 2011-12) are shown in the following table(1).
	(1) Excludes 'county matters' and national park authorities.
	
		
			 Authority Percentage major decisions in 13 weeks 
			 Haringey 16.7 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 24.4 
			 Torbay 25.5 
			 Hounslow 26.5 
			 Barking and Dagenham 27.3 
			 Cambridge 28.4 
			 Fylde 29.8 
		
	
	As we state in the 'planning performance and the planning guarantee' consultation paper, we believe it is right to designate where there is clear evidence that particular planning authorities are performing very poorly, as consistent, unreasonable delays are against the interests of applicants and local residents. Planning is a quasi-judicial process: justice delayed is justice denied.
	As I indicated during the Public Bill Committee considering Clause 1 of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, we expect to have to use this power to designate planning authorities very sparingly, and this table illustrates that. The Government remains committed to decentralising power and responsibility wherever possible, and this measure will not affect the great majority of authorities that already provide an effective planning service, other than to act as a reminder of the importance of timely and well considered decisions.

Government Funding: Barnsley

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect of Town Team Partnership funding on Barnsley Central constituency.

Mark Prisk: Funding was paid on 1 November 2012 as a grant under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003. The local authority is the accountable body for the funding which is un-ringfenced grant. The funding is part of a much wider package of support that is designed to help Town Teams strengthen their leadership on the ground and enable them to try new ideas. It is entirely for the Town Team to determine how funding is spent; Government have no plans to micro-manage how local people make those decisions, although we will be looking to learn from their experiences.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy: Prices

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department has taken to assist people with their energy bills over the winter.

Gregory Barker: DECC is already taking a number of steps to help consumers, particularly the vulnerable, with their energy bills. Programmes such as the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target, Community Energy Saving Programme, Warm Front, Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation have been established to make homes more energy efficient. In addition, the Warm Home Discount provides £1.1 billion of support up to 2015 to help 2 million low income and vulnerable households annually.
	DECC has also taken steps to help consumers switch to better deals this winter, having negotiated a voluntary agreement with suppliers to fund the recently held Big Energy Saving Week campaign and to provide information to their customers on how to find and get their supplier's best tariff.
	DECC has also recently announced a consultation on proposed legislation to help consumers get the lowest tariff for them.

Energy: Research

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what funds the Government spent on research and development in energy in each of the last five years; and what funds have been allocated for research and development in energy for each year to 2015.

John Hayes: The Department of Energy and Climate Change's expenditure on research and development, specifically on energy and as reported to the Office for National Statistics, is as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
			 2008-09 (1)n/a 
			 2009-10 (1)n/a 
			 2010-11 4,629 
			 2011-12 1,204 
			 (1) Previous years figures for R&D expenditure at this level are not held by the Department 
		
	
	Figures for the year 2012-13 will be available later in 2013.
	For spending in 2013-15, DECC is in the process of developing detailed business plans and figures are not yet available.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis) on 15 October 2012, Official Report, columns 141-42W.

Gas Market

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department (a) carried out and (b) was involved in any examination between 2004 and 2006 of allegations of misconduct in the UK gas market; and if he will publish details of any such examination.

John Hayes: I am not aware of any examinations that the Department has been involved in, concerning allegations of misconduct in the UK gas market between 2004 and 2006.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people in (a) the UK and (b) Brighton, Kemptown constituency have received support from the Warm Home initiative in the last three years.

Gregory Barker: Around 2 million low income and vulnerable households will benefit each year as a result of the Warm Home Discount scheme, which started in April 2011. This included over 700,000 of the poorest pensioners who received an automatic £120 discount on their electricity bills in winter 2011-12. This year, over 1 million of the poorest pensioners are expected to receive an increased discount of £130.
	Regional or constituency breakdowns for this data are not available.

Wind Power

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many wind turbines there are in the UK with a generating capacity of between 450kW and 500kW.

John Hayes: DECC's Renewable Energy Planning Database showed that in October 2012 there were 160 turbines in the UK rated between 450 kw and 500 kw.

Wind Power

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the wind turbine industry on carbon emissions.

John Hayes: In 2011, DECC estimated that wind generation of electricity contributed to the equivalent of burning 1,332,500 tonnes of oil to the UK energy network (891,800 tonnes from onshore wind, 440,700 tonnes from offshore wind).
	Wind power has one of the lowest carbon footprints, with the manufacturing and construction phases accounting for 98% of the total life cycle CO2 emissions. For onshore wind, the carbon footprint ranges between 8-20gCO2eq/kWh, taking into account not only emissions from generation of electricity but those incurred during the manufacture, construction and decommissioning phases. For offshore wind, two peer-reviewed studies give, footprints of between 9 and 13gCO2eq/kWh. By comparison, the average emissions from fossil fuelled power generation in the UK is around 850gCO2eq/kWh for coal, 590gCO2eq/kWh for oil and 370gCO2eq/kWh for gas.

EDUCATION

Children: Day Care

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 19 October 2012, Official Report, column 423W, on children: day care, what other evidence-gathering and consultation activities have been undertaken by (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department for the Childcare Commission.

Elizabeth Truss: The Childcare Commission is led jointly by the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions. Evidence-gathering and consultation, activities have been a shared exercise.
	In addition to the open call for evidence, Ministers and officials from both Departments have held meetings with a range of stakeholders including academics, voluntary and community sector organisations, think tanks, child care voucher providers, welfare-to-work providers, child care and early years representative bodies, schools and Academy trusts, wraparound care providers, employer representatives and welfare rights groups. Ministers and officials have visited leading countries such as France and Germany, and held meetings with representatives from the Netherlands. The Department of Education also commissioned evidence gathering from a range of other sources.
	A number of other organisations undertook activities to support and inform the work of the commission, including the National Day Nurseries Association, The Daycare Trust, 4Children, and the National Children's Bureau.

Children's Rights

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he has taken to ensure the adequate and systematic training in relation to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child of (a) law enforcement officials, (b) immigration officials, (c) the media, (d) health personnel, (e) social workers, (f) child care workers and (g) officials in Government Departments; and how many people in each of those categories have received such training.

Edward Timpson: It is for the employers or professional bodies of staff working in categories (a) to (f) to determine their training arrangements in line with relevant national requirements, including in relation to the UNCRC.
	Immigration officials are, for example, expected to understand the implications for their work of the children's duty in section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009; the Professional Capabilities Framework for social workers sets standards for skills and knowledge which include the advancement of human rights and promotion of social justice and economic well-being; and Early Years Professionals are required to demonstrate that they promote equality of opportunity through championing children's rights.
	The Department for Education has embarked on a programme of awareness raising and training on the UNCRC for relevant officials in other Government departments, Information on the UNCRC has been provided to Bill teams across government and more detailed training sessions have been run for staff in the Home Office and Department of Health. A further session is due to take place for staff in the Department for Work and Pensions next month. This process is set to continue.
	Information on the number of people undertaking such training is not available.

Misuse of Drugs Ministerial Group

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many times Ministers of his Department have attended the inter-ministerial group on drugs since May 2010.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 13 November 2012
	Ministers from the Department for Education have attended the inter-ministerial group on drugs four times since May 2010.

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which companies have been awarded sub-contracts for construction of HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales; at which sites he expects work under each such contract to be carried out; and what the monetary value is of each such contract.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 26 November 2012
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Worcestershire (Peter Luff) on 13 July 2010, Official Report, column 605W. An updated list of sub-contracts has been placed in the Library of the House.

Aircraft Carriers

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 23 October 2012, Official Report, column 806W, on aircraft carriers, what the expected running costs will be of a second Queen Elizabeth Class carrier.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 27 November 2012
	I have nothing to add to the answer I gave my hon. Friend on 23 October 2012, Official Report, column 806W.

Atomic Weapons Establishment

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many representatives of the (a) French, (b) Russian and (c) Chinese Governments visited the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Berkshire, in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

Philip Dunne: There were no visits to the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) by Russian or Chinese Government representatives in 2010 or 2011.
	Two individuals from the French Ministry of Defence visited in 2010. There is one French individual currently on secondment at AWE from the ‘Commissariat à l'énergie atomique’ (CEA), which is a French Government-funded technological research organisation.
	There are also numerous visits each year by appropriately security-cleared French nationals, who are predominantly CEA employees or contractors. The number of these visits is not routinely collated.

Atomic Weapons Establishment

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements have been made with the French Government on French experimental involvement in the Orion laser facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Philip Dunne: No arrangements have been made with the French Government on French experimental involvement in the Orion laser facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Atomic Weapons Establishment

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to the public purse was of the Atomic Weapons Establishment's Technical Outreach programme in each of the last three years.

Philip Dunne: The following table shows the payments made by the Atomic Weapons Establishment under its Technical Outreach programme. The figures cover the last three calendar years up to July 2012 which are the most recent figures available.
	
		
			  Payment (£) 
			 2010 8,543,612 
			 2011 8,543,741 
			 2012 (to July 2012) 4,580,715

Atomic Weapons Establishment

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 3 September 2012, Official Report, column 44W, on AWE: research, which universities undertake research commissioned by the AWE which is security classified.

Philip Dunne: None of the Atomic Weapons Establishment commissioned research work undertaken by universities is security classified.

Atomic Weapons Establishment

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent steps he has taken to assess and upgrade lightning protection standards at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Philip Dunne: Lightning standards at the Atomic Weapons Establishment are regularly assessed to ensure they are compliant with the appropriate protection requirements and are routinely tested to ensure correct operation.

BAE Systems

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  on how many occasions BAE Systems has written to his Department to notify it of a (a) key industrial capability trigger event and (b) key industrial capability notice under the terms of the 2009 Terms of Business Agreement since 24 May 2012;
	(2)  if he will estimate the (a) number of payments and (b) cost to the public purse of key industrial capability notices issued to BAE Systems under the terms of the 2009 Terms of Business Agreement.

Philip Dunne: BAE Systems Maritime—Naval Ships (BAES MNS) has not notified the Ministry of Defence (MOD) of any new key industrial capability trigger (KIC) event since 24 May 2012. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Worcestershire (Peter Luff) on 24 May 2012, Official Report, column 828W, in which he reported that there was one occasion when BAES MNS has served the MOD with a KIC trigger event notice. This event related to a shortfall in ship support work load.
	The payment notice resulting from this KIC trigger event remains the subject of ongoing discussions between the company and the MOD. No payment has been made in respect of this notice.

Devonport Dockyard

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) details and (b) breakdown is of his Department's £162 million infrastructure investment at HM Naval Base Devonport from May 2010 to the end of September 2012.

Philip Dunne: A detailed breakdown of investment by the Ministry of Defence in Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Investments Total (£ million) 
			 Project Armada(1) 49 
			 Devonport Landing Craft Collocation Project 23 
			 New Works and Floating Assets 6 
			 Functional Machinery 2 
			 Long Term Fleet Time Docking Project 6 
			 Royal Marines Haslar and Naval Service Recovery Pathway Extension (NSRPE)(2) 1 
			 Nuclear Facilities Estate Investment 75 
			 Total 162 
			 (1) The Armada Project is a private finance initiative project that provides single living accommodation for 1,650 Royal Navy personnel. (2) Ministry of Defence is funding additional facilities in support of the NSRPE by renting Equality Act 2010 compliant cabins in modular buildings. It has funded the conversion of some of the conventional single living accommodation and the creation of additional rehabilitation gym space. The main contract, which will provide a new 60-bed accommodation block and new rehabilitation facilities including a hydrotherapy pool, is being funded by the Help for Heroes charity.

HMS Defender

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when HMS Defender will be declared operational.

Philip Dunne: On current plans, HMS Defender is expected to enter service in mid-2013, after which further trials, training and equipment preparations will be required prior to operational deployment.

Military Aircraft

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the relative cost and benefits of having a maritime surveillance capability which consists of embarked aircraft compared with land-based aircraft.

Philip Dunne: To inform our future capabilities the Ministry of Defence has begun an investigation into airborne intelligence, surveillance, targeting, acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities. This investigation will be complete before the strategic defence and security review in 2015.

Military Exercises

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the names, dates and locations were of any nuclear weapons emergency exercises organised by his Department in 2011 and 2012; and what the names, dates and locations will be of any such exercises in 2013.

Philip Dunne: The names, dates and locations of nuclear weapons emergency response exercises which took place in 2011 and 2012 and provisional dates for exercises scheduled for 2013 are shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  Date Location 
			 Exercises conducted in 2011   
			 Orange Eagle 28 March to 1 April 2011 RAF Hullavington 
			 Sitex (A) 11 8 June 2011 AWE Aldermaston 
			 Bowline 11 5 July 2011 RNAD Coulport 
			 Osmosis 11 9-22 July 2011 RAF Honington 
			 Astral Climb/Senator 11 13-15 September 2011 Prestwick Airport/East Kilbride 
			 Sitex (B) 11 11 October 2011 AWE Burghfield 
			    
			 Exercises conducted in 2012   
			 Orange Eagle 19-23 March 2012 Bramley Military Training Area 
			 Astral Bend 12 27 March 2012 Heyford Park, Oxfordshire 
			 Sitex (A) 12 29 May 2012 AWE Aldermaston 
			 Sitex (B) 12 10 October 2012 AWE Burghfield 
			 Osmosis 12 15-25 October 2012 RAF Honington 
			 Astral Climb 12 15 November 2012 Ouston Airfield, Northumbria 
		
	
	
		
			  Date (provisional) Location 
			 Exercises scheduled for 2013   
			 Astral Climb 13 June 2013 North Yorkshire 
			 Bowline 13 July 2013 Scotland 
			 Osmosis 13 July 2013 Suffolk 
			 Sitex (A) November 2013 Berkshire 
			 Astral Bend 13 November 2013 Avon and Somerset

Nimrod Aircraft

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effects of the cancellation of Nimrod on the UK's ability to conduct military tasks; and what progress his Department has made on addressing those consequences.

Andrew Robathan: Following the removal of Nimrod MR2 from service in March 2010 and the cancellation of the MRA4 programme, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has conducted a number of studies into the resulting capability implications, but no decision has been made on whether a long-term manned or unmanned replacement for the Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) is required.
	Since the previous Government withdrew the MPA a range of complementary assets have been used to mitigate the capability gap including T23 Frigates, Merlin helicopters, attack submarines, and Hercules C130 and E-3 Sentry aircraft, and to seek assistance, where appropriate, from allies and partners.

Trident

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2012 to the hon. Member for Islington North, Official Report, column 412W, what the titles are of all projects currently underway at the Atomic Weapons Establishment to inform the decision on whether to refurbish or replace the existing UK Trident warhead.

Philip Dunne: The Nuclear Weapons Capability Sustainment Programme has been under way since 2005. It is a programme at the Atomic Weapons Establishment to maintain and where necessary to develop science and technology capability to develop infrastructure facilities, and staff capabilities to ensure that the UK has the ability to underpin any decision on a future UK nuclear warhead.

Trident

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff are employed on the Trident replacement design programme at (a) BAE Systems, (b) Babcock Marine, (c) Rolls-Royce and (d) elsewhere.

Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 November 2012, Official Report, column 239W, in which I stated that there are approximately 1,100 BAE Systems and 100 Babcock Marine personnel employed on the Successor submarine programme. Work on the Successor programme is also sustaining around 600 jobs at Rolls-Royce.
	Information on personnel employed elsewhere is not held in the format requested and I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 November 2012, Official Report, column 235W, in which I stated that there are approximately 130 Ministry of Defence personnel employed solely on the Successor submarine programme.

Trident Missiles

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the life expectancy is of rocket motors for the Trident D5 missile; and what studies have been conducted into the implications of ageing of the motors.

Philip Dunne: The life expectancy of a Trident D5 rocket motor is 30 years. The US continues to study the life expectancy of the Trident D5 missiles and the UK is kept informed on the progress of this work.

Trident Missiles

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the last seven-year design review of the Trident Re-entry System took place; and when the next such review will take place.

Philip Dunne: The last seven-year design review of the Trident Re-entry System was conducted in 2006 and reported in 2007.
	The next review is currently planned to be in 2013 and to report in 2014.

Trident Missiles

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of adjustments to the D5 Missile extension programme consequent on the proposed reduction in the number of missiles.

Philip Dunne: No adjustments to the D5 Missile extension programme are required as a consequence of the reduction in the number of operational missiles that are carried onboard the Vanguard Class submarines as announced in the 2010 strategic defence and security review. There is, therefore, no change in the cost to the public purse.

Type 45 Destroyers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the unit production cost of Type 45 destroyers.

Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 November 2012, Official Report, column 498W, to my right hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex (Nicholas Soames).

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 23 October 2012, Official Report, column 812W, on unmanned air vehicles, when a decision about the Royal Navy ISTAR UOR will be made; and what the expected in-service date is.

Philip Dunne: The Urgent Operational Requirement to provide Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance capability for the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships is expected to reach its main investment decision point in the first quarter of 2013. The in-service date will be confirmed at that point.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department plans to arm Watchkeeper WK450; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 27 November 2012
	The Ministry of Defence currently has no plans to arm the Watchkeeper unmanned air system (UAS) or the Hermes 450 UAS which is supporting operations in Afghanistan as an Urgent Operational Requirement.

USA

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many experiments the Atomic Weapons Establishment has participated in using the Z Pulsed Power Facility at Sandia National Laboratories in each year since 2007;
	(2)  what the (a) names and (b) dates were of subcritical nuclear weapon tests at the Nevada Test Site which the UK participated in since 1991;
	(3)  in how many experiments the Atomic Weapons Establishment has participated using the dual axis radiographic hydro-test facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in each year since that facility opened;
	(4)  in how many experiments the Atomic Weapons Establishment has participated using the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in each year since the facility opened.

Philip Dunne: Officials from the Ministry of Defence and personnel from the Atomic Weapons Establishment work closely with their US counterparts on a range of nuclear matters under the auspices of the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement. This includes participation in experiments at the Nevada Test Site, and at the Los Alamos, Sandia and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories.
	I am withholding further details of this work in the interests of safeguarding national security.

USA

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 13 December 2010, Official Report, column 458W, on nuclear weapons, which US establishments were visited by personnel from the Atomic Weapons Establishment in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011; and how many staff visited each such establishment.

Philip Dunne: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

USA

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which UK establishments were visited by US personnel under the terms of the US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011; and how many staff visited each such establishment.

Philip Dunne: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

SCOTLAND

Hospitals: Parking

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information his Department holds on the cost of introducing free parking at NHS trusts in Scotland; and what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on what effect that introduction has had.

David Mundell: No such information is held by Scotland Office. The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), and I are in regular contact with the Scottish Ministers on a range of issues.

Sovereignty

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions have taken place between Ministers in his Department and the Scottish Government on independence.

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), and I have discussed the referendum with the Scottish Government on a number of occasions, most recently on 15 October when Scotland's two Governments reached agreement on the process to ensure that there is a legal, fair and decisive referendum.

Work Programme

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions his Department has held with the Scottish Government in the last two months on the training needs of people participating in the Work programme.

David Mundell: Scotland Office officials are in regular contact with officials from the Scottish Government to discuss a range of issues. From 2013, the Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), will co-chair the Scottish Employability Forum alongside the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. The forum will provide a focus for employability issues across Scotland.

Written Questions

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the (a) shortest and (b) longest time taken by his Department to answer a written parliamentary question was in (i) 2012 to date, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2010.

David Mundell: This information is not available in the form requested. To facilitate a manual search of PQ records would incur disproportionate cost.
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the current Session. Statistics relating to performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary Session are available on the Parliament website as follows:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_ Monitoring_PQs.pdf

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation

Pauline Latham: To ask the Attorney-General whether the Serious Fraud Office is investigating the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation either formally or informally.

Oliver Heald: As and when matters are brought to the attention of the SFO they are considered for investigation. It is not always possible to comment on individual cases or prospective cases.

WALES

Boundary Commission for Wales

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has had meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister to discuss the work of the Welsh Boundary Commission; and when any such meetings were held.

David Jones: The four UK Boundary Commissions, including the Boundary Commission for Wales, are currently working on revised proposals for new parliamentary constituency boundaries and must publish final proposals before October 2013.
	Given that this work is ongoing, I have not discussed it with the Deputy Prime Minister.

Devolution

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how often he meets Ministers in the Welsh Government.

David Jones: I regularly meet with Ministers from the Welsh Government.

Housing Benefit

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he plans to meet the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to discuss the effect on Wales of the Government's proposed changes to housing benefit.

David Jones: I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), about a range of matters relevant to Wales, including the impact of welfare reform in Wales.

Non-domestic Rates

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with Welsh Ministers on the implications of the proposed postponement of the next business rates revaluation from 2015 to 2017 in England on levels of funding in Wales.

David Jones: There is no necessary link between the non-domestic rates revaluation and the levels of funding in Wales. Any decision to delay the revaluation of business rates in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Government.
	The Commission on Devolution in Wales, which reported on 19 November 2012, recommended that business rates in Wales be fully devolved. The Government will respond to the Commission's report in due course.

Severn River Crossings: Tolls

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet the Secretary of State for Transport to discuss tolls on the two Severn crossings.

David Jones: I already have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), on transport issues which affect Wales, including the Severn bridge crossings.

Severn River Crossings: Tolls

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet the First Minister of Wales to discuss tolls on the two Severn crossings.

David Jones: I have regular meetings with the First Minister of Wales to discuss a range of issues which affect Wales, including the Severn bridge crossings.

Welsh Grand Committee

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  when the Government will next convene a meeting of the Welsh Grand Committee;
	(2)  if he will meet the Leader of the House to discuss a programme of meetings of the Welsh Grand Committee.

David Jones: I intend that the Welsh Grand Committee convenes as soon as possible to debate the recommendations of the Commission on Devolution in Wales, published on 19 November 2012.
	I believe the Grand Committee is best used on a flexible basis to debate matters of importance to Wales. I am not minded therefore to put in place a formal programme of meetings.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Bill of Rights

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  whether she plans to convene a meeting of Northern Ireland political parties to discuss a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights;
	(2)  what progress has been made in talks to establish a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights.

Michael Penning: The Government would like to see this issue resolved. However, it remains clear that there is currently no consensus among the political parties in Northern Ireland around prospects for a Bill of Rights. The previous Administration in which the right hon. Member served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland also sought to make progress on this issue but was unable to resolve it over a period of 12 years following the Belfast Agreement.
	We are happy to discuss the issue further with the political parties if they wish to do so. I very much hope that they will work together to identify a mutually acceptable way forward.

Devolution

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent meetings she has had with Ministers in the Irish Government.

Theresa Villiers: Since being appointed I have had regular meetings with Ministers in the Irish Government.

Pay

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2012, Official Report, column 583W, on pay, whether the number given for employees of her Department earning in excess of £80,000 per year is inclusive or exclusive of the number earning in excess of £100,000 per year.

Michael Penning: Further to my answer of 22 November 2012, Official Report, column 583W, the number of staff earning over £80,000 is exclusive of those earning in excess of £100,000 per year.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Belarus

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss with the Home Secretary the establishment of a review of current (a) visa entry requirements, (b) restrictions and (c) costs levied on Belarusian nationals wishing to travel to the UK for the purpose of work or tourism.

David Lidington: The Government have current plans to change visa entry requirements for Belarusian nationals wishing to travel to the UK for the purpose of work or tourism. Visa fees are the same for all nationalities. They are subject to annual review.

Latin America

Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the growth in UK exports to (a) Argentina, (b) Brazil, (c) Colombia, (d) Chile, (e) Paraguay and (f) Latin America has been in each of the last three years.

Michael Fallon: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	UK exports since 2008 and annual growth are shown in the following tables. Figures for Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Chile are based on Pink Book 2012 published by the Office for National Statistics and cover both goods and services exports. Figures for Paraguay and Latin America are not available in Pink Book 2012, so have been taken from HM Revenue and Customs Overseas Trade Statistics which covers goods only.
	
		
			 Argentina 
			  UK exports of goods and service (£ million) Annual growth (£ million) Annual growth (percentage) 
			 2008 481 — — 
			 2009 426 -55 -11 
			 2010 619 193 45 
			 2011 696 77 12 
			 Source: ONS Pink Book 2012 
		
	
	
		
			 Brazil 
			  UK exports of goods and services(£ million) Annual growth (£ million) Annual growth (percentage) 
			 2008 2,337 — — 
			 2009 2,540 203 9 
			 2010 3,134 594 23 
			 2011 3,695 561 18 
			 Source: ONS Pink Book 2012 
		
	
	
		
			 Colombia 
			  UK exports of goods and services (£ million) Annual growth (£ million) Annual growth (percentage) 
			 2008 275 — — 
			 2009 309 34 12 
			 2010 481 172 56 
			 2011 698 217 45 
			 Source: ONS Pink Book 2012 
		
	
	
		
			 Chile 
			  UK exports of goods and services(£ million) Annual growth (£ million) Annual growth (percentage) 
			 2008 472 — — 
			 2009 745 273 58 
			 2010 851 106 14 
			 2011 1,049 198 23 
			 Source: ONS Pink Book 2012 
		
	
	
		
			 Paraguay 
			  UK exports of goods (£ million) Annual growth (£ million) Annual growth (percentage) 
			 2008 16 — — 
			 2009 18 2 9 
			 2010 28 11 59 
			 2011 38 10 36 
			 Source: HMRC OTS www.uktradeinfo.com 
		
	
	
		
			 Latin America 
			  UK exports of goods (£ million) Annual growth (£ million) Annual growth (percentage) 
			 2008 3,163 — — 
			 2009 3,389 226 7 
			 2010 4,216 827 24 
			 2011 4,810 594 14 
			 Note: Latin America is defined as: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela. Source: HMRC OTS www.uktradeinfo.com

Middle East

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance he has (a) given and (b) plans to give to the Government of Israel to help fight terrorism; what recent meetings he has had with the Government of Israel on fighting terrorism; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Alistair Burt: We have a regular dialogue with Israel on the issue of terrorism. This issue was recently discussed at the Israel-UK Strategic Dialogue on 1 November.
	We have also discussed this issue with Israel in the context of the recent violence in Gaza and southern Israel. We have been clear that we condemn indiscriminate rocket fire into southern Israel, as we do all acts of terrorism.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), issued a statement on 21 November expressing UK concern at reports of a bomb attack on a bus in Tel Aviv, which seriously injured a number of people. The Foreign Secretary made clear that terrorists must not be allowed to set the agenda.

Middle East

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to promote compliance with international law in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Alistair Burt: We urge all parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.
	It is important that Israel fulfils its obligations under international law. We have consistently condemned Israel's announcements to accelerate settlement building in Israel to reverse these.
	We have also repeatedly made clear to the Israelis our serious concern at the 40% increase last year, as recorded by the UN, in demolitions of Palestinian properties in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Our ambassador in Tel Aviv raised this issue with the Israeli Co-ordinator of Government Activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 9 October. We view such demolitions and evictions as causing unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; as harmful to the peace process; and, in all but the most limited circumstances, as contrary to international humanitarian law.
	More generally, we continue to have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories which we raise regularly with the Israeli authorities. More details can be found at:
	http://fcohrdreport.readandcomment.com/human-rights-n-countries-of-concern/israel-and-the-opts/

Middle East

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart about further annexations in the west bank.

Alistair Burt: We regularly raise our concerns over settlements with the Israel Government, including at the highest levels, most recently with the Prime Minister's office on 24 October and in the course of the UK's strategic dialogue with Israel in London on 1 November.

Middle East

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the Israel-Gaza conflict and the ceasefire.

Alistair Burt: The British Government are gravely concerned by the recent violence in Gaza and southern Israel and deeply regrets the loss of civilian life. We consistently called on those involved to avoid any action which risked civilian casualties.
	We welcome the agreement reached on 21 November to end hostilities. We have urged all sides to uphold their commitments, and paid tribute to President Mursi and the Egyptian Government for their intensive efforts and the leadership they have shown, as well as to Secretary of State Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for the role they have played.
	This ceasefire is an important step towards a lasting peace. The priority now must be to build on the ceasefire and to address the underlying causes of the conflict, including more open access to and from Gaza for trade as well as humanitarian assistance, and an end to the smuggling of weapons. Above all, the loss of life over the past week has shown the urgent need for a return to negotiations on a two state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The UK will work urgently with the United States, the EU, our other international partners and with Israel and the Palestinian Authority, calling for a new initiative to restart the peace process before the window for a two state solution closes.

Middle East

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has received reports of the use of drones by the Israeli armed forces; and whether he has made an assessment of their accuracy and effect on the civilian population.

Alistair Burt: We are aware of reports of the use of drones by the Israeli authorities but have not made an assessment of their use. We have consistently urged Israel to meet its obligations under international humanitarian law.

Middle East

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has considered imposing trade sanctions with Israel following the recent conflict.

Alistair Burt: We welcome the agreement reached on 21 November to end hostilities. We have urged all sides to uphold their commitments, and paid tribute to President Mursi and the Egyptian Government for their intensive efforts and the leadership they have shown, as well as to Secretary of State Clinton and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for the role they have played.
	This ceasefire is an important step towards a lasting peace. The priority now must be to build on the ceasefire and to address the underlying causes of the conflict, including more open access to and from Gaza for trade as well as humanitarian assistance, and an end to the smuggling of weapons. Above all, the loss of life over the past week has shown the urgent need for a return to negotiations on a two state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The UK will work urgently with the United States, the European Union, our other international partners and with Israel and the Palestinian Authority, calling for a new initiative to restart the peace process before the window for a two state solution closes.
	The British Government have made our position on boycotts and sanctions clear. We do not believe that imposing sanctions on Israel or supporting anti-Israeli boycotts would be productive. However, we will continue to make our views on the full range of issues absolutely clear to Israel. This included stressing the need to de-escalate following recent events in Gaza.

Sri Lanka

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will visit Sri Lanka to discuss the ongoing political process in that country.

Alistair Burt: There are no current plans for the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), to visit Sri Lanka.
	I hope to visit the country within the next few months.

UK Trade and Investment

Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many businesses from Worcestershire have accessed help and support from UK Trade and Investment in the last year; and how many different markets that support relates to.

Michael Fallon: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	In the past year UKTI significantly supported 176 individual Worcestershire companies via a range of schemes supporting both experienced exporters growing into new markets as well as companies new to exporting. We have supported companies with specific advice on individual markets entry into 43 countries, with the most accessed markets being Germany, Canada, China, Mexico, Belgium and Romania.

Western Sahara

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise with the UN Security Council political persecution in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara under Moroccan occupation.

Alistair Burt: Western Sahara is discussed regularly by the UN Security Council. The UK plays a full part in those discussions, including emphasising the importance of improving the human rights situation in Western Sahara and the Tindouf refugee camps

Western Sahara

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations in the UN Security Council on reports of the lack of freedom of expression and freedom of association in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara.

Alistair Burt: Western Sahara is discussed regularly by the UN Security Council. The UK plays a full part in those discussions, including emphasising the importance of improving the human rights situation in Western Sahara and the Tindouf refugee camps.

Western Sahara

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 September 2012, Official Report, column 151W, on Western Sahara, whether the Moroccan National Human Rights Council will report to the UN Security Council on (a) the reports of human rights abuses which have been made, (b) which of the reports have been investigated, (c) the findings of the investigations and (d) what actions have been taken.

Alistair Burt: The Moroccan National Human Rights Council (CNDH) is not obliged to report directly to the UN Security Council. However, it has made several of its reports public, and therefore available to the Security Council. These can be accessed at:
	www.ccdh.org.ma

CABINET OFFICE

Big Lottery Fund: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications for Big Lottery funding were received from (i) Scotland and (ii) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: This information is owned by the Big Lottery Fund. The following tables provide the number of awards made and the number of unsuccessful applications received from Scotland and the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency in each of the last five years. The figures refer only to full applications and include those that were withdrawn by the applicant.
	
		
			 Scotland 
			 Financial year Number of awards Number of unsuccessful applications 
			 2007-08 2,442 2,461 
			 2008-09 2,222 2,142 
			 2009-10 2,797 1,370 
			 2010-11 2,430 2,484 
			 2011-12 2,393 2,064 
		
	
	
		
			 Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency 
			 Financial year Number of awards Number of unsuccessful applications 
			 2007-08 47 37 
			 2008-09 31 36 
			 2009-10 36 31 
			 2010-11 59 49 
			 2011-12 43 35

Departmental Records

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 13 November 2012, Official Report, column 214W, on Sir Edward Heath, if he will publish a description of the contents of the first 10 files from the PREM 15 series that have been retained by the Cabinet Office.

Francis Maude: holding answer 26 November 2012
	As many as possible of the descriptions of the files in the PREM 15 series (Prime Minister's office; correspondence and papers, 1970-74) will be reviewed and published in the catalogue available on The National Archives website:
	http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/default.asp?i=1
	The first 10 descriptions will be available on the catalogue shortly. These are:
	
		
			  Description 
			 PREM 15/286 Intelligence Collection: Prime Minister's request for information 
			 PREM 15/290 UK—US understanding on use of nuclear weapons: USS Poseidon in Holy Loch 
			 PREM 15/294 Intelligence operation 
		
	
	
		
			 PREM 15/786 Naval intelligence gathering: operation Ticky; Defence Secretary sought approval 
			 PREM 15/1358 Polaris firing orders: nuclear retaliation procedures; appointment of nuclear deputies 
			 PREM 15/1379 UK accession to EEC 
			 PREM 15/1384 Photographic reconnaissance of People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY) 
			 PREM 15/873 European negotiations: letter of appreciation 
			 PREM 15/983 Subversion in industry: setting up of interdepartmental group to study subversion in public life 
			 PREM 15/1679 Subversion in industry: industrial intelligence; part 2

Government Departments: Land

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much land owned by central Government Departments was (a) held, (b) sold and (c) purchased in each of the last five years.

Chloe Smith: In May 2010, the Government introduced a moratorium on the acquisition of new properties or the extension of existing leases. Between May 2010 and September 2012 we have reduced the annual cost of the estate by £350 million and, over the 20 months since May 2010, over £640 million has been raised in capital receipts by selling over 250 surplus buildings.
	Information on ownership of central Government land in the form requested is not currently held centrally although planned improvements to the scope and quality of data captured by the central database of Government land and buildings are already in place.

Training

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department has spent on training courses run by Common Purpose in each of the last five years.

Francis Maude: holding answer 22 November 2012
	The Cabinet Office has spent the following on training courses run by Common Purpose in each of the last five years:
	
		
			 Financial year Spend (£) 
			 2007-08 3,554.37 
			 2008-09 5,287.50 
			 2009-10 0 
			 2010-11 638.30 
			 2011-12 0

Visits Abroad

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what overseas trips have been undertaken by Ministers in his Department since 12 May 2010; what the purpose was of each trip; what the total cost was of each trip; how many Ministers and officials attended each trip; and what meetings were held and with whom.

Francis Maude: holding answer 26 November 2012
	Details of Cabinet Office Ministers' overseas travel are published online on a quarterly basis at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/ministers-transparency-publications

Written Questions

John Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the (a) shortest and (b) longest time taken by his Department to answer a written parliamentary question was in (i) 2012 to date, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2010.

Francis Maude: Cabinet Office systems do not record the information in the format requested.
	The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the current Session. Statistics relating to performance for the 2009-10 and 2010-12 parliamentary Sessions are available on the Parliament website:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P85-GovtMemotoProcCttee-09-10statsFinal170211.pdf
	and
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_Monitoring_PQs.pdf

PRIME MINISTER

Taxation: Multinational Companies

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with G20 leaders on tackling base erosion and profit-shifting.

Greg Clark: holding answer 27 November 2012
	I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	At the G20 Leaders summit in Los Cabos on 18-19 June 2012, the Leaders of the G20 reiterated the need to prevent base erosion and profit shifting and declared that they will follow with attention the ongoing work of the OECD in this area.
	Following this, at the G20 meeting of Finance Ministers on 4-5 November 2012 in Mexico City, the Finance Ministers also stated that they welcome the work that the OECD is undertaking into the problem of base erosion and profit shifting and look forward to a report about progress of the work at the next meeting.

HEALTH

Attendance Allowance

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department permits local authorities to include attendance allowance in means test calculations when assessing eligibility for care support.

Norman Lamb: Local authorities make the assessment of a person's needs separately to the financial assessment for charges. The assessment of need only considers what care and support the individual may require and whether this meets the local authority's eligibility threshold.
	Local authorities must charge when they provide residential care. Where a person is a temporary resident any attendance allowance they receive must be disregarded. For permanent residents it is taken into account in the financial assessment for charging. However, people in local authority supported residential care lose their attendance allowance after 28 days.
	Local authorities have discretionary powers to charge for non-residential care. They design their own charging policies. The Department has issued statutory guidance to local authorities on how to design these policies. Disability-related benefits like attendance allowance may be taken into account when assessing how much a person can contribute towards the cost of their care—although it is open to local authorities to disregard it. If the local authority does take these benefits into account, the statutory guidance says charges should not reduce the user's net income below basic levels of income support, plus 25%, and should not result in the user being left without the means to pay for any other necessary care or support or for other costs arising from their disability.

Blood: Contamination

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the reach of the compensation deal announced in January 2011 for sufferers of bleeding disorders who received contaminated blood.

Anna Soubry: In the period to 31 March 2012, the last full financial year for which information is available, the number of people across the United Kingdom who were in receipt of the various ex-gratia payments in the package announced on 10 January 2011, is shown in column 2 of the following table.
	
		
			 Payment type Number of recipients Estimated number who may be eligible 
			 Skipton Fund stage 1 payments of £20,000, in respect of people who died prior to 29 August 2003. 436 (1)3,507 
			 Skipton Fund stage 2 payments of £50,000, in respect of people who died prior to 29 August 2003. 169 (2)702 
			 £25,000 top-ups to people who had previously received a Skipton Fund stage 2 payment of £25,000. 697 (3)901 
			 New stage 2 payments of £50,000, since 11 January 2012. 148 — 
			 Annual payments to those most serious ill as a result of hepatitis C infection. (£12,800 from January 2011 to March 2011; £13,200 from April 2011 to March 2012). 548 (4)783 
			 Uprating of annual payment for HIV and hepatitis C infection by the Consumer Prices Index. 907 (5)— 
			 Discretionary payments in respect of hepatitis C infection from the Caxton Foundation. 85 (6)— 
		
	
	
		
			 Payment for a prescription pre-payment certificate. 104 (7)— 
			 (1) Estimate of deaths of those with chronic hepatitis C, between 1995 and 2003. Published in annex 2 of the Report of the review of the support available to individuals infected with hepatitis C and/or HIV by NHS-supplied blood transfusions or blood products and their dependants. The number of deaths before 29 August 2003 is very uncertain but reflects the Department's best estimates at the time of publication, based on the published literature and expert advice. (2) Estimate of deaths of those with cirrhosis, between 1995 and 2003. Published in annex 2 of the Report of the review of the support available to individuals infected with hepatitis C and/or HIV by NHS-supplied blood transfusions or blood products and their dependants. (3) Data provided by the Skipton Fund. (4) Number of infected beneficiaries still alive at the end of 2011-12, at stage 2. Published in annex 2 of the Report of the review of the support available to individuals infected with hepatitis C and/or HIV by NHS-supplied blood transfusions or blood products and their dependants. (5) The uprating is being received by everyone in receipt of annual payments from MFET Ltd and Skipton fund. (6) About 5,000 potential beneficiaries. Caxton Foundation annual report and accounts, 2010-11, p.7. There are insufficient data to reliably estimate the total number of potential beneficiaries. (7) Not known.

Brain Tumours

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people died from a brain tumour in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England in 2011-12; and what steps he is taking to reduce the mortality rate;
	(2)  how many people aged under 18 died from a brain tumour in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012 to date.

Anna Soubry: Information concerning the number of people in England under the age of 18 who died from a brain tumour in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and the number of people who died of a brain tumour in Barnsley Central constituency, South Yorkshire and England in 2011 has been placed in the following tables. Data for 2012 are not yet available.
	
		
			  Deaths from brain tumours in people under 18 
			 2009 67 
			 2010 84 
			 2011 78 
		
	
	
		
			 Geographical area Deaths from brain tumours in 2011 
			 England 3,235 
			 South Yorkshire 81 
			 Barnsley Central Constituency 4 
		
	
	We are committed to reducing mortality rates for all cancers, including brain cancer. ‘Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer’, published on 12 January 2011, set out an ambition to save an additional 5,000 lives every year by 2014-15 through earlier diagnosis of cancer and improved access to treatment, particularly radiotherapy.
	To support earlier diagnosis of cancer we have committed an additional £450 million in the four years up to 2014-15. This money is being used to raise awareness of the symptoms of cancer; fund increased general practitioner (GP) access to diagnostic tests; and pay for more testing and treatment in secondary care. One of the tests we are increasing access to is magnetic resonance imaging to support the diagnosis of brain cancer, and we have now published best practice referral guidelines for general practitioners on how to access this test.
	Between January and March 2013, we are providing just under £850,000 in funding to pilot a general symptoms awareness campaign that will be relevant to a range of cancers, including brain cancer. The campaign will aim to encourage people with the relevant symptoms to visit their GP.
	We are also supporting the national health service to tackle variation in access to treatment by providing benchmarked data on survival and treatment locally and we are supporting access to new and innovative cancer treatments. For example, in April 2012 we announced that £250 million of public capital had been set aside to be invested by the NHS in building Proton Beam (PBT) Therapy facilities at The Christie Hospital in Manchester and University College London Hospital, benefitting up to 1,500 patients a year. PBT offers a superior treatment to a small number of patients with complicated cancers, particularly those affecting the brain.

Care Homes: Finance

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department plans to provide financial assistance to small care homes to help them meet the costs of the increased minimum wage and new employee pension plans.

Norman Lamb: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him on 22 October 2012, Official Report, column 700W.

Charities

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what offers of support or expertise his Department has received from charities or other organisations in 2012.

Norman Lamb: The Department does not record all offers of support or expertise it receives from charities or other organisations.
	The Department values and recognises the support and expertise that voluntary sector organisations and social enterprises can contribute. They have a vital role to play in improving health and well-being outcomes as providers of services, providing advocacy and voice and informing the development of health and social care policy.
	The Department has well-established working relationships with charities and voluntary organisations. Working with partners and stakeholders in the development of policy is a matter of routine and good practice.
	The Voluntary Sector Strategic Partner Programme provides a departmental wide framework for systematic and accountable voluntary sector involvement in policy and programmes where charities may have specific insight and expertise to offer.
	In addition, many condition specific and patient group charities lend their support in specific policy areas.

Doctors: Disciplinary Proceedings

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors have faced disciplinary proceedings in Havering in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: This information is not centrally held. The hon. Member may wish to contact the national health service trust responsible for this information.

Epilepsy

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of epilepsy amongst (a) NHS staff and (b) the general public;
	(2)  how his Department plans to help promote the early diagnosis of epilepsy in children;
	(3)  what funding is in place to aid the development of treatments for people suffering from epilepsy.

Norman Lamb: There is information available for both the public and health care professionals on the NHS Choices and NHS Evidence websites. NHS Evidence in particular contains a number of resources to support early diagnosis and treatment.
	We have asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to develop a quality standard for children and young people with the epilepsies. This quality standard, which is expected to be published in February 2013, will help drive improvements in the diagnosis, care and treatment of this condition.
	The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government supports medical and clinical research, including development of new treatments. It is an independent research funding body which receives its grant in aid from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The MRC does not normally allocate funding for specific disease areas and research funding is dependent on the quality and strategic relevance of proposals submitted by the research community and is determined through peer review.
	Research is also funded through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) programmes and funding streams. The NIHR will continue to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health.

Health Education: Older People

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to promote healthy lifestyles for elderly people.

Norman Lamb: The Department has a strong emphasis on public health, and seeks to improve and protect the nation’s health while reducing health inequalities. In the 2010 White Paper “Healthy Lives, Healthy People,” the Government set out our priority to improve people’s health at all stages of the life-course—including in later life. The new responsibilities for local government on public health present an opportunity to address this challenge. Public health will be better integrated with those other factors that impact on the health and wellbeing of older people such as housing, leisure services, the voluntary sector, transport, community cohesion and of course social care services.
	From April 2013, Public Health England will provide expert evidence based advice alongside and with National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, supporting local authorities and the national health service in their efforts to improve public health. In their role providing intelligence and information on the health and well-being of local communities, they will produce health profiles for each local authority, providing data and information on the health and wellbeing of all people in local areas—including analysis of the health older people.
	In terms of specific steps the Department has taken to promote healthy lifestyles for older people, in July 2011, the chief medical officers for the four home countries published revised physical activity guidelines 'Start Active, Stay Active'. This document includes recommendations for physical activity across the life course, including specific recommendations for those aged 65 and over. This is the first time guidelines have been published for older people, encouraging a life course approach to physical activity.

Health Professions: Assessments

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of health professionals being recruited from the NHS to carry out (a) work capability assessments and (b) personal independence payment assessments.

Mark Hoban: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	In respect of (a) ESA work capability assessments, Atos Healthcare would expect to recruit in the region of 200 clinical staff during 2013 to cover turnover—a mixture of doctors, nurses and physiotherapists. New staff will be recruited from a number of different healthcare settings and by no means all come from the NHS.
	As regards (b) personal independence payment assessments, these will be delivered by Atos and Capita.
	Atos will recruit through a supply chain and have contracted with a number of NHS trusts and other service providers who will therefore continue to be employed by these organisations.
	Capita have forecast a health professional headcount requirement of approximately 81 in June 2013, rising to approximately 584 by July 2015. These are only estimates at present and could be subject to change. Capita will be conducting their own recruitment for health professionals through their own website.

Heart Diseases

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence quality standard on atrial fibrillation to be published.

Norman Lamb: We have asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to develop a Quality Standard on atrial fibrillation as part of a library of approximately 180 NHS Quality Standards. NICE has not yet published a time scale for the development of this Quality Standard.
	The NHS Commissioning Board, who will be responsible for the strategic direction of NHS Quality Standards from April 2013, has begun discussions with NICE to determine the most appropriate sequencing for NHS Quality Standards to assist the Board in improving patient outcomes across the five domains of the NHS Outcomes Framework.

HIV Infection

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to educate people about HIV/AIDS.

Anna Soubry: The Department funds the Terrence Higgins Trust for the HIV Prevention England programme, which targets gay and bisexual men and African communities, the groups most affected by HIV in the United Kingdom. HIV Prevention England includes information and awareness interventions, promotion of HIV testing and work to inform the evidence-base on effective HIV prevention.
	HIV Prevention England is additional to work on HIV prevention and health promotion commissioned and funded by the national health service and others locally.

Hospitals: Parking

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average NHS trust spends annually on hospital car park (a) security, (b) signage, (c) maintenance and (d) other management costs.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not collected centrally by the Department.
	National health service organisations are responsible locally for decisions on the provision of car parking, including the costs associated with it.

Influenza

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost of the seasonal influenza vaccination programme was in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: The estimated total cost of the seasonal influenza vaccination programme in England in each of the last five seasons is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Influenza season Total cost (£ million) 
			 2007-08 152 
			 2008-09 159 
			 2009-10 159 
			 2010-11 171 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 182 
			 Notes: 1. The Department is unable to provide an exact cost of the influenza programme for national health service patients because primary care trusts are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of services locally to meet the national programme requirements and because providers are responsible for purchasing the influenza vaccine directly from manufacturers. 2. The total cost comprises estimated or actual costs of vaccine purchase, payments to providers for administration including incentives under the general practice Quality and Outcomes Framework and costs of Department of Health advertising campaigns. Costs of influenza vaccination of NHS staff have not been included as these costs are paid from local NHS budgets as part of occupational health. We have not included estimates for these in the annual estimates. 3. The number of people in eligible groups receiving influenza vaccine have markedly increased from just under 12.5 million in 2007-08 to just over 15 million in 2011-12. The influenza campaign was also extended to include pregnant women from the 2010-11 season.

Influenza

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many instances of influenza are predicted to have been averted as a result of the seasonal influenza vaccination programme this winter; and at what cost to the public purse such measures were taken.

Anna Soubry: The epidemiology of influenza is unpredictable and it is not possible to predict with any accuracy the number of cases of influenza that may be averted during the 2012-13 winter due to influenza vaccination.
	An unpublished study considered in 2012 by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation based on the epidemiology of influenza in England and Wales from 1995-96 to 2008-09 suggests that on average the current influenza vaccination programme might prevent around 1.5 million cases of influenza annually. However, there is large uncertainty each way in this estimate. The number of cases prevented will also vary widely from year to year depending on a number of factors including the degree of influenza activity, and the matching between the vaccine-type available and circulating influenza strains.
	The estimated cost of the seasonal flu immunisation programme in 2012-13 will be around £180 million for vaccine purchase and payments to providers for vaccine administration. In addition, the estimated cost of the seasonal flu advertising campaign cost for 2012-13 is £560,000.

Influenza

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is considering to prevent an influenza crisis this winter.

Anna Soubry: The Department is taking a comprehensive range of measures to prevent and control influenza (flu) this year, including:
	publishing a seasonal flu plan to assist local national health service organisations in developing robust and flexible operational plans;
	running an assurance process to ensure adequate plans are in place for the flu season;
	running a targeted national communications campaign to promote improved uptake of flu vaccine in clinical risk groups;
	liaising with flu vaccine manufacturers to help ensure security of supply;
	holding a central strategic reserve of flu vaccine to address any serious supply issues; and
	monitoring levels of flu, and vaccine coverage throughout the season.

Legionnaires' Disease

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to prevent an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease.

Anna Soubry: The Health Protection Agency (HPA) works with other agencies such as local authorities and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which has statutory responsibility for legionella control as described in the approved code of practice, ‘Legionnaires’ disease; The control of Legionella bacteria in water systems’, to develop guidance to manage any risks associated with specific waters systems:
	http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l8.htm
	All clinical and laboratory reports of legionnaires' disease are statutorily notifiable to enable the HPA to take prompt action and to establish if there are clusters occurring. Any clusters are immediately referred to local health protection units for investigation. In this way potential outbreaks are identified at an early stage allowing the rapid implementation of control measures to prevent further cases.

Maternity Services: Worcestershire

Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of spending by the NHS was spent on maternity care in Worcestershire in 2011-12.

Daniel Poulter: The data requested are not yet available for 2011-12. In 2010-11, the proportion of total expenditure spent on Maternity and Reproductive Health by Worcestershire primary care trust was 3.71%.

Midwives

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultant midwives there were in each region of England in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.

Daniel Poulter: The number of consultant midwives is unavailable as the Non-Medical Workforce Census only captures the numbers of nurse consultants in maternity services.
	The Information Centre for health and social care collects data on the number of nurse consultants working in maternity services.
	
		
			 NHS hospital and community health services: Nurse consultants in the maternity services area of work in England by strategic health authority area as at 30 September each specified year 
			 Headcount 
			  2010 2011 
			 England 68 68 
			    
			 North East Strategic Health Authority area 4 2 
			 North West Strategic Health Authority area 10 8 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority area 7 6 
			 East Midlands Strategic Health Authority area 2 3 
			 West Midlands Strategic Health Authority area 2 2 
		
	
	
		
			 East of England Strategic Health Authority 2 2 
			 London Strategic Health Authority area 24 27 
			 South East Coast Strategic Health Authority area 7 5 
			 South Central Strategic Health Authority area 7 5 
			 South West Strategic Health Authority area 3 8 
			 Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census

Monitor

Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the application of Monitor's risk pool scheme to hospices and other third sector organisations.

Anna Soubry: A search of the Department's ministerial correspondence database has identified four items of correspondence about the application of Monitor's risk pool scheme to hospices and other third sector organisations. This is a minimum number which represents correspondence received by the Department's ministerial correspondence unit only.

MRSA

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to encourage further research into the use of DNA sequencing to prevent outbreaks of MRSA.

Daniel Poulter: The Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is jointly funding the UKCRC (UK Clinical Research Collaboration) Translational Infection Research Initiative with other UKCRC partners. Under this initiative, two consortia are studying the use of genome sequencing in infection control.
	The Modernising Medical Microbiology Consortium aims to exploit recent advances in sequencing the genomes of bacterial and viral pathogens of public health concern, to improve and speed up their classification and identification. The NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre is a partner in the consortium. The work of the consortium includes a study, hosted by the NIHR Clinical Research Network, establishing how new strain typing and database technologies can be optimally integrated into microbiology service and research—to track and identify outbreaks in Staphylococcus aureus and other pathogens.
	The Cambridge Translational Microbiology Consortium aims to bring rapid microbial genome sequencing into the heart of the diagnostic microbiology laboratory, and has an initial focus on Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
	In addition, the NIHR Centre for Health Protection Research has a current project on development of a whole genome sequence-based tool to track MRSA transmission in the United Kingdom.

Muscular Dystrophy

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of unplanned emergency admissions to hospital with muscular dystrophy and related neuromuscular conditions.

Norman Lamb: Information on the cost of unplanned emergency admissions to hospital for people with muscular dystrophy and related neuromuscular conditions is not collected centrally.

NHS: Innovation

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress he has made on implementing the recommendations of the Innovation, Health and Wealth review.

Daniel Poulter: We are making very good progress on delivery. Implementation is on track and in line with expected time lines and work continues to embed Innovation, Health and Wealth actions in all parts of the new national health service system.

NHS: Reorganisation

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress his Department has made in the modernisation of the NHS.

Anna Soubry: The implementation of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 is on track, with organisational changes under way to ensure the new system is ready for April 2013. Good progress is being made on the introduction of the new organisations in the system, with bodies such as the NHS Commissioning Board, Health Education England and the NHS Trust Development Authority already providing leadership and taking on new functions in advance of full implementation next year.
	The basis of the reform is to re-shape the national health service so that it is more patient centred, led by health professionals and focused on delivering world class health outcomes.

Skipton Fund

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will estimate the cost of abolishing the two-stage system of the Skipton Fund in order to provide the £50,000 lump sum payment to everyone infected with hepatitis C, regardless of their level of liver damage;
	(2)  if he will estimate the cost of abolishing the two- stage system of the Skipton Fund in order to provide ongoing payments to everyone infected with hepatitis C, regardless of their level of liver damage.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of removing the two-stage distinction in regard to hepatitis C patients who receive payments from the Skipton Fund; what proportion of that cost would relate to making lump sum payments to all patients; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: It is impossible to accurately estimate the cost of abolishing the two-stage system of the Skipton Fund in order to provide ongoing payments to everyone infected with hepatitis C, because the following are unknown: the number of people who have received a stage 1 payment from the Skipton Fund and are currently alive, the number of new people who might come forward to make a claim in future, the rate at which recipients of Skipton Fund payments might die in future, and the level at which the annual payment will be uprated by inflation each year.
	The current system of payments for hepatitis C infection is based on the clinical and scientific evidence base on the spectrum and impact of disease associated with hepatitis C infection, and will remain so.

Smoking: Young People

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce smoking among young people in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England.

Anna Soubry: The Government take seriously the need to reduce the take up of smoking by young people and to help those that do smoke to stop. The Government's comprehensive, evidence-based strategy to reduce tobacco use in England over the five years until 2015, in the context of the new public health system, is set out in ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A Tobacco Control Plan for England’ (published March 2011). A copy has already been placed in the Library
	One of three national ambitions in the Tobacco Control Plan, to be achieved by 2015, is focused on reducing smoking prevalence among young people. The Plan sets out a range of initiatives to achieve this ambition which apply at national level across England, including in South Yorkshire and Barnsley. For example, tobacco sales from vending machines stopped on 1 October 2011, so removing an easily accessible and often unsupervised, source of under-age sales of cigarettes. Since 6 April 2012, permanent, eye-catching, displays of tobacco products that evidence shows can promote smoking by young people, came to an end in supermarkets and other large stores, and will stop in all other shops in April 2015. Also, a number of national marketing campaigns have targeted behaviour around smoking, such as the effect on children of second hand smoke from smoking in homes and cars.
	In addition, the Government have recently carried out a consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco products (from 16 April until 10 August), which attracted many thousands of replies. We want to understand whether policy action on tobacco packaging has the potential to bring additional public health benefits, over and above those expected to accrue from existing tobacco control initiatives. Any decisions to take further policy action on tobacco packaging will be taken only after full consideration is given to all the consultation responses, evidence and other information.
	The Tobacco Control Plan for England also promotes and encourages local areas to adopt similarly comprehensive local strategies. The new approach to public health delivery in England means that local areas will decide their own priorities and ways of improving health in their communities, according to local circumstances and evidence, and supported by dedicated ring-fenced funding. The Department does not hold centrally, detailed information about the tobacco control initiatives pursued by each local area. However, information about the smoking behaviour of children aged 11 to 15 is available by region in England for the year 2010-11 and the years 2006 to 2008 combined. Copies of ‘Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England’ have already been placed in the Library.
	‘Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England’, findings by region 2006 to 2008 has been placed in the Library.

Strokes

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to ensure that clinical commissioning groups are accountable for the prevention of stroke;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take to ensure that clinical commissioning groups are accountable for the outcomes of atrial fibrillation patients.

Anna Soubry: The Government's mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB), published on 13 November, makes it a priority for the national health service to focus on preventing premature mortality, including by supporting the earlier diagnosis of illness and helping people stay in good health. The NHS CB will work with clinical commissioning croups, and health and well-being boards to determine how best to achieve this. The NHS CB will shortly be publishing a planning framework for 2013-14 that will set the context for this work.
	Under the mandate, the NHS CB will also be held to account for making progress against the indicators in the NHS Outcomes Framework; these include a specific indicator about improving recovery from stroke.
	The mandate is available in the Library and on the Department's website at:
	www.mandate.dh.gov.uk

Surgery

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to page 26 of Innovation, Health and Wealth, if he Department will launch an oesophageal doppler monitoring uptake programme; what estimate he has made of the number of patients that could participate in such a programme each year; and what estimate he has made of the savings that would accrue from such a programme each year.

Daniel Poulter: Innovation Health and Wealth set out that from April 2013, compliance with six high impact innovations (HIIs) would become a pre-qualification requirement for Commissioning for Quality and Innovation payments. Oesophageal doppler monitoring or other similar fluid management monitoring technology was one of the initial six HIIs selected.
	Health care providers are required to demonstrate to national health service commissioners that their plans for the technology are consistent with National Technology Assessment Centre guidance on oesophageal doppler monitoring.
	We expect the number of patients benefitting from oesophageal doppler monitoring to increase as familiarity with the technologies increases, and as the existing technologies evolve to address clinical concerns over their applicability to all high risk surgery.

Thromboembolism

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent estimate he has made of the (a) prevalence and (b) incidence of venous thromboembolisms;
	(2)  how many people were admitted to hospital with (a) all venous thromboembolisms, (b) deep vein thrombosis and (c) pulmonary embolism in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Anna Soubry: Data for finished admission episodes for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism admissions in the years requested is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 FAE(1) 
			  All DVT(2) including those affecting pregnancy (all codes) Pulmonary embolism(2) (PE) 
			 2009-10 43,683 32,646 
			 2010-11 42,932 34,850 
			 2011-12 39,098 36,381 
			 (1) A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (2) Diagnostic codes used: (a) DVT: Thrombosis where the site is specified can be coded as any of the below, some of these may not be considered deep. The coding advice from data standards recommends using all of these codes to capture DVT: 180.0 Phlebitis and thrombophlebitis of superficial vessels of lower extremities 180.1 Phlebitis and thrombophlebitis of femoral vein 180.2 Phlebitis and thrombophlebitis of other deep vessels of lower extremities 180.3 Phlebitis and thrombophlebitis of lower extremities, unspecified 180.8 Phlebitis and thrombophlebitis of other sites 180.9 Phlebitis and thrombophlebitis of unspecified site O22.2 Superficial thrombophlebitis in pregnancy O22.3 Deep phlebothrombosis in pregnancy O87.0 Superficial thrombophlebitis in the puerperium O87.1 Deep phlebothrombosis in the puerperium (b) Pulmonary embolisms are coded as: I26.0 Pulmonary embolism with mention of acute cor pulmonale I26.9 Pulmonary embolism without mention of acute cor pulmonale 
		
	
	'Venous thromboembolism' is an umbrella term, but there is no commonly agreed group of codes that can be used to determine the total number of episodes that are considered to be venous thromboembolism.
	There are no current estimates available of either prevalence or incidence of venous thromboembolism in England or the United Kingdom.

Thromboembolism

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the NHS safety thermometer in reducing the occurrence of venous thromboembolisms.

Daniel Poulter: The NHS Safety Thermometer is a point prevalence survey tool that allows frontline clinicians to collect data on the number of patients in a health care setting on a single day each month who have one or more of four specific ‘harms’. The NHS Safety Thermometer collects data on harm from falls, urinary tract infections in patients with catheters, pressure ulcers and venous thromboembolism (VTE). The tool allows health care professionals to measure local improvement over time. Data from the NHS Safety Thermometer are published monthly on the Health and Social Care Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/services/nhs-safety-thermometer
	The data collection is new and the methods used to collect data can vary locally so it is not currently possible to draw statistically valid conclusions regarding impact of the NHS Safety Thermometer on the occurrence of VTE at a national level. It is also not possible to disaggregate the impact of the NHS Safety thermometer on VTE from the impact of other VTE-related strategies.

Tuberculosis: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met Ministers in the Scottish Government to discuss the incidence of tuberculosis.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 12 November 2012, Official Report, column 76W, to the right hon. Member for Stirling (Mrs McGuire).

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Lord Lieutenants

Kevan Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps the Lord Lieutenant of County Durham has taken to promote awareness of the honours system in that county.

Chloe Smith: The activities of lords lieutenant are not the responsibility of central Government. It is a matter for each lord lieutenant to promote honours as they see fit for their lieutenancy and to conduct public engagements appropriate to their role and relevant to their country.

Lord Lieutenants

Kevan Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will publish a list of all of the clerks to the lords lieutenant;
	(2)  which clerks to lords lieutenant are not currently employed by the county, district or unitary council that the lords lieutenant represents; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: The clerks to lords lieutenant are not the responsibility of central Government. Lords lieutenant and their local authorities are responsible for their clerks.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bangladesh

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answers of 22 October 2012, Official Report, columns 726-8W, on Bangladesh, and 1 November 2012, Official Report, columns 601-2W, on Bangladesh, how many people she expects to receive support through the Economic Empowerment of the Poorest Programme.

Alan Duncan: The Economic Empowerment of the Poorest Programme (2008-15) aims to enable 1 million people to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. The programme supports extreme poor people to increase their incomes through acquiring assets such as livestock, establishing small businesses and giving access to skills training.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband Delivery UK

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2012, Official Report , column 905W, on Broadband Delivery UK, whether the methodology used to calculate headcount in each quarter is based on the number of leavers and joiners in the previous quarter.

Edward Vaizey: The Broadband Delivery UK headcount presented in the answer of 24 October 2012, Official Report, column 905W, was based upon the number of leavers and joiners for each quarter. However, the rows entitled leavers and joiners were reversed. There were also some errors in the figures for April-June and July-September 2012. The figures should have been presented as follows:
	
		
			 Year/Quarter 
			  2011 2012 
			  Pre-April April-June July-September October-December January-March April-June July-September 
			 Headcount 19 21 29 34 49 56 54 
			 Joiners — 5 13 7 24 14 15 
			 Leavers — 3 5 2 9 7 7

Broadband: Glasgow

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what steps her Department plans to take to tackle the broadband deficit in Glasgow;
	(2)  what discussions her Department has had with (a) Ofcom, (b) the Scottish Government and (c) Glasgow City Council on broadband access in Glasgow in the last two months.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not had any discussions in the last two months with Ofcom, the Scottish Government or Glasgow city council relating to broadband access in Glasgow.
	The UK Government are investing £100.8 million in Scotland through the rural broadband programme, which is managed by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK); decisions on how to allocate this funding within Scotland are a matter for the Scottish Government. BDUK officials will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government on the plans for the delivery of superfast broadband across Scotland. This enhanced broadband connectivity will help attract new investment and jobs by offering high-tech and digital businesses the infrastructure they need.

Broadband: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she has met her counterpart in the Scottish Government to discuss the roll-out of superfast broadband; and when she next expects to meet her counterpart in the Scottish Government for such discussions.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), has not yet met Scottish Government Ministers to discuss broadband and no meetings have been requested. The UK Government have allocated £100.8 million to support broadband in Scotland, and Broadband Delivery UK is supporting the Scottish Government which is leading on Broadband delivery in Scotland.

Internet: Data Protection

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of recent steps taken at EU level to investigate the way online search engines gather and use personal information.

Helen Grant: The Government have made no such assessment. However, it is worth drawing attention to the investigation by the Commission Nationale de I’informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) into Google's privacy policy on behalf of the Article 29 Working Party. The Article 29 Working Party is made up of a representative from the data protection authority of each EU member state, the European Data Protection Supervisor and the European Commission. The representative for the UK is the Information Commissioner (currently the Vice Chair of the Working Party), the independent regulator of the Data Protection Act 1998. The CNIL has investigated and suggested a number of changes for Google to put in place within a strict timescale. The Information Commissioner will wait for the CNIL's assessment of those changes before considering any enforcement action.

Leisure: Surveys

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2012, Official Report, column 322W, on leisure: surveys, what the cost of the sections on children's participation in sport in the Taking Part survey was in each year since 2005-06.

Hugh Robertson: The costs for Taking Part child data were included in the total costs of the Taking Part survey, provided in my answer to the right hon. Member on 19 November 2012, Official Report, column 322W. For the first three years of the survey (where child data covered 11 to 15-year-olds), the cost for the child element was separate from the main survey and is shown in the following table. From 2008-09 (where the child data covered five to 15-year-olds), the child element was integrated into the overall survey costs and cannot be separately identified.
	
		
			 Taking Part child survey costs (when provided separately from the adult survey)(1) 
			 Survey year Child survey costs (£) 
			 2005-06 (Y1)(2) 102,152 
			 2006-07 (Y2) 152,429 
			 2007-08 (Y3) 133,916 
			 (1) These figures are net of any recoverable VAT. (2) Y1 data collected for six months, January to June only.

Music

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how she plans to ensure that each music hub is working with each school, local authority and other music organisations.

Edward Vaizey: Arts Council England (ACE) is the fund holder for Music Education Hubs. It administers support to hubs on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education, which provides funding. Every hub has the local authority as a key partner, as well as local music organisations. Data on hub performance, including school engagement, will be collected annually from October 2013. ACE has a risk-based approach to monitoring hubs that includes a minimum quarterly meeting. It is not for the Departments to manage hubs directly.
	However, the National Plan for Music Education Monitoring Board, chaired by a Minister, holds meetings three times a year, at which the overall performance of the 123 hubs is discussed. In addition, the Departments will jointly receive regular reports from ACE on the performance and progress of the hubs, which commenced operations in September this year.

National Lottery

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate she has made of the amount of national lottery funding provided to good causes.

Hugh Robertson: Under current projections, national lottery good causes should receive £1.84 billion from the National Lottery Distribution Fund in 2012-13, including £136 million contributed to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Billing

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average time taken by his Department to settle invoices to external suppliers or contractors was in each of the last three financial years.

Richard Benyon: The average time taken for core DEFRA to settle invoices to external suppliers or contractors is published in DEFRA's Annual Report and Accounts. The link to the 2011-12 Annual Reports and Accounts is provided as follows. Information for the current financial year will be published in the 2012-13 Annual Report and Accounts.
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/files/pb13805-defra-annual-report-2011-12.pdf

Bovine Tuberculosis

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he last met the Agriculture Minister in the Welsh Government to discuss culling of badgers.

David Heath: Since he joined the Department on 4 September 2012, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), has had no meetings with the Agriculture Minister in the Welsh Government to discuss culling of badgers.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding his Department is providing for the development of usable TB vaccine for badger and cattle.

David Heath: DEFRA expects to spend about £15.5 million on research and development into cattle and badger vaccines for bovine TB between 2012-13 and 2015-16. Since 1994, DEFRA has spent a total of £39.7 million on research and development into vaccines for both cattle and badgers, with an additional £4 million on associated cattle diagnostics.

Fisheries: Quotas

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to publish a register of ownership of UK fisheries quotas; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The UK Fisheries Administrations are aiming to publish a register of holdings of UK Fixed Quota Allocation (FQA) units during 2013. DEFRA will issue an announcement when the register is launched.
	To clarify, the register will cover holdings of FQA units and not UK fisheries quotas. The quotas are set annually for particular species at the EU Council of Fisheries Ministers and FQA units are the mechanism by which the UK Fisheries Administrations allocate the UK quota among their fishing fleet.

Flood Control

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government plan to spend on managing the risk of flooding and coastal erosion in each year until 2015.

Richard Benyon: The Government plan to spend at least £2.17 billion on managing the risk of flooding and coastal erosion from April 2011 to March 2015. Budgeted expenditure for this and the following two years is as follows:
	
		
			 Budgeted expenditure by DEFRA in England 
			  £ million 
			 2012-13 554.6 
			 2013-14 542.1 
			 2014-15 529.6

National Wildlife Crime Unit

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to announce the future of the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

Richard Benyon: The Government take the matter of wildlife crime very seriously and appreciate the contribution made by the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) in tackling these crimes. Decisions on NWCU funding beyond 2012-13 will be taken as soon as possible.

TREASURY

Alcoholic Drinks: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2012, Official Report, column 77W, on alcoholic drinks: prices, when he or Ministers of his Department last met Ministers in the Scottish Government to discuss minimum unit pricing for alcohol.

Sajid Javid: Treasury Ministers and official have discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. The cross-Government Alcohol Strategy was published in March 2012. This included a commitment to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol alongside other key measures to reduce the harm caused by excessive alcohol consumption. Government Departments continue to engage on these issues through the consultation on the Alcohol Strategy, which was launched on 28 November 2012. The Government continue to engage with the Scottish Government on the issue of minimum unit pricing.

Child Benefit

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of how many families will be affected by the high income child benefit charge in 2013.

David Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr Byrne), on 6 November 2012, Official Report, column 575W.

Child Benefit: Merseyside

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in St Helens South and Whiston constituency have received letters from HM Revenue and Customs informing them that their child benefit is likely to be reduced or withdrawn.

David Gauke: In a period when the Government are having to reduce welfare spending, it is not possible to justify the majority of families subsidising child benefit for the wealthiest 15% of families in society.
	Approximately 630 letters about the high income child benefit charge will have been sent by HMRC to taxpayers within the St Helens South and Whiston constituency by the end of November 2013.
	The high income child benefit charge will not reduce or withdraw the amount of child benefit that an individual receives. Instead a tax charge of a value equal to some or all of the child benefit received will be applied to the individual or their partner, depending on who has the higher income over £50,000. If they wish, the child benefit recipient may choose to stop receiving payment of child benefit rather than have the tax charge apply.

Credit: Debts Written Off

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has any plans to review the taxation of peer-to-peer lending for the purpose of allowing the off-setting of losses through bad debt against interest earned.

Greg Clark: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), keeps all taxation policy under review. When considering tax changes to any sector, the Government must fully consider the range of potential impacts any changes may have, including for example, resourcing and compliance, European state aid issues, and broad economic impacts.

Devolution: Wales

Paul Murphy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to meet the Finance Minister in the Welsh Government to discuss the report of the Commission on Devolution in Wales.

Danny Alexander: I regularly meet with the Finance Minister to discuss matters that are relevant to Wales.

Freight Transport Association

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met representatives of the Freight Transport Association.

Sajid Javid: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and discussions with a wide variety of authorities as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings and discussions.

PAYE

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the cost for each employer of migrating to PAYE real time information in terms of (a) checking and amending employee data, (b) training and familiarising staff and (c) ongoing administration.

David Gauke: The costs of implementing RTI for individual employers will depend on the number of employees they have and vary with circumstances. HMRC estimates that training and familiarising staff with the new processes could cost most firms an average of £50 and that amending data held about existing employees could cost up to £20 for a small employer.
	HMRC's initial assessment of the new ongoing administrative burden, for all employers, is approximately £30 million per year in steady state. This will be offset by estimated savings of £330 million from the abolition of some current reporting requirements.
	HMRC is using the pilot to assess the cost impacts on employers of RTI and these estimates will be kept under review.

Revenue and Customs

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2012, Official Report, column 679W, on Revenue and Customs, what targets HM Revenue and Customs has set for the proportion of callers who will be able to access its helpline without having to wait to speak to an adviser.

David Gauke: HMRC does not have a target for the proportion of callers who will be able to access its helpline without having to wait to speak to an adviser. I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 17 July 2012, Official Report, column 679W. HMRC is planning to expand the automated solutions available for customers and expects that this will increase the proportion of callers able to access the information required from their helplines without having to wait to speak to an adviser.

Revenue and Customs: Sunderland

Julie Elliott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many representations were made to his Department on the closure of Shackleton House tax office; and if he will list the names of all those making such representations;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the feasibility study considered by ministers in his Department when considering whether to close Shackleton House tax office;
	(3)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the equality impact assessment conducted as part of the decision to close Shackleton House tax office;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the ability of nearby offices to accommodate staff working in Shackleton House tax office when that office is closed;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the economic effect on the city centre of Sunderland of the closure of Shackleton House tax office.

David Gauke: In the past 12 months HMRC has received 38 representations about the closure of offices in Sunderland and Washington. The following MPs have all written to lend their support to a PCS Union campaign against the closure of HMRC offices at these two locations, some more than once: Grahame Morris (Easington), Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South), Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow), Ian Mearns (Gateshead), David Miliband (South Shields), Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham), Phil Wilson (Sedgefield), Dave Anderson (Blaydon), Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) and Julie Elliott (Sunderland Central). HMRC has also received letters about the closure from Dave Smith, chief executive of Sunderland city council, Councillor Robert Oliver from Sunderland city council and John Anderson of the Sunderland City Centre Traders Association.
	There are no plans to publish or release the findings of HMRC's feasibility work into the closure of Shackleton House in the form of either a study or a report. HMRC will be publishing some information from its feasibility findings on the Department's intranet site.
	There are no plans to place a copy of the equality impact assessment conducted to inform the decision to close Shackleton House in the Library. HMRC does plan to publish the equality impact assessment on its internet site in the near future.
	Before taking the decision to close Shackleton House in Sunderland HMRC carried out a full assessment which took account of current and future business plans for its North East estate. This included an analysis of how HMRC will use its office accommodation efficiently to deliver its full operational commitments. HMRC constantly reviews its office requirement as its business activities alter so that it can continue to accommodate the right number of people in the right locations.
	In HMRC's assessment any economic effect on the surrounding area arising from the closure of Shackleton House is likely to be minimal and temporary, lasting until such time as the building receives a new tenant.

Tax Avoidance

Michael McCann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue to the Exchequer foregone through the practices of companies earning money from transactions with UK companies held in offshore accounts and withholding payments for sales for up to three weeks.

David Gauke: No such estimate has been made.

Tax Avoidance

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many prosecutions HM Revenue and Customs brought under IR35 rules in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many investigations HM Revenue and Customs initiated under IR35 rules in the last year for which figures are available.

David Gauke: HMRC does not prosecute people for non-compliance with the IR35 legislation as there are no criminal sanctions attached to the IR35 legislation.
	HMRC launched a new approach to IR35 from April this year and has opened 193 investigations between April 2012 and November 2012 where IR35 is the main risk.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who will have to complete a self assessment tax return as a result of changes to the age- related income tax personal allowance from 2013-14.

David Gauke: At Budget 2012, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), said that around 150,000 people complete a self assessment tax return because they are currently affected by the income-related reduction to the higher income tax personal allowances.
	The changes to personal allowances from 2013-14, together with future increases to the personal allowance for those born after 5 April 1948 will in time enable the removal of the income-related reduction.

Welfare Tax Credits

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on seeking to recover tax credit overpayments in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: This information is not available centrally, and could be researched only at disproportionate cost.

Welfare Tax Credits

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of tax credit overpayments that have been written off in each of the last five years is.

David Gauke: HMRC has reported tax credit remissions and write-offs in published accounts as follows:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Remissions 240.0 264.0 407.0 600.0 1,617.3 
			 Write-offs 7.0 23.0 30.0 24.0 57.1 
			 Total 247.0 287.0 437.0 624.0 1,674.4 
		
	
	Remissions are debts capable of recovery but HMRC has decided not to pursue the liability on the grounds of value for money. Write-offs are debts that are considered to be irrecoverable because there is no practical means for pursuing the liability.

Welfare Tax Credits

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on personal finances of requirements to repay large tax credit overpayments.

David Gauke: HMRC policy on recovering tax credits overpayments is set out in Code of Practice 26, ‘What happens if we've paid you too much tax credit’. This can be found on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/cop26.pdf

Working Tax Credit

Kate Hoey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were in receipt of working tax credits with a disability element from May 2010 to date.

David Gauke: This information is published twice a year in the HMRC publication "Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics". These publications can be found here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits-cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm
	The information requested can be found in Table 1.2 in each publication. For convenience the data since April 2010 has been re-produced as follows.
	
		
			 Thousand 
			 Date Disabled worker element Severely disabled worker element 
			 April 2010 125 33 
			 December 2010 118 31 
			 April 2011 118 31 
			 December 2011 116 30 
			 April 2012 116 30

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Anti-dumping Duties

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the recent EU decision to impose anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese imports of ceramic tableware and kitchenware.

Michael Fallon: Based on an assessment of the evidence presented by the Commission and representations from interested parties, including producers, importers and retailers, the UK opposed these tariffs. This position reflected our concerns about the justification for measures at the levels proposed, about their effectiveness and about the burden they would place on buyers of tableware.
	However, the European Commission is entitled to impose provisional anti-dumping measures under EU anti-dumping regulation, even if there is opposition from a majority of EU member states. Any consultation with member states at this provisional stage is on an advisory basis and the final decision rests with the Commission.
	The Commission now has up to six months to complete the full investigation and make a recommendation about definitive anti-dumping measures. The UK Government will continue to liaise with the Commission and with business, both those for and those against measures, and our position will be kept under review.

Anti-dumping Duties

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he or officials of his Department have had with officials in the European Commission about the Commission's decision to impose anti-dumping tariffs on imports of Chinese ceramic tableware and kitchenware.

Michael Fallon: The Commission proposal for provisional anti-dumping tariffs on these products was discussed at the Anti Dumping Committee of 23 October. At that meeting the UK, represented by BIS officials, made its views known and expressed its opposition to the tariffs.
	The Commission now has up to six months to complete the full investigation and make a recommendation about definitive anti-dumping measures. The UK Government will continue to liaise with the Commission and with business, both those for and those against measures, and our position will be kept under review.

Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many new employees taken on by his Department were taken on as apprentices in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and at what levels such apprenticeships were.

Jo Swinson: holding answer 27 November 2012
	Like all Government Departments, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has been subject to a recruitment freeze, as part of dealing with the structural deficit. In the last 12 months has taken on two new employees as external apprentices. These apprenticeships were at level 2.

Apprentices: Graduates

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of apprentice-graduates who went on to (a) university, (b) work, (c) other study and (d) other outcomes in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: Apprenticeships provide an important pathway to higher level learning, sustainable employment and career progression.
	A recent BIS survey included 2,250 apprentices who completed their apprenticeship up to a year previously. This showed that, at the time of the survey, 85% were in employment, 4% were self employed, 3% were in education or training and 8% were unemployed. No information is available for other years but the survey is being repeated again, reporting in early summer 2013.
	Source
	IFF and IER, (2012) Evaluation of Apprenticeships: Learners. BIS research paper number 76.
	A University of Greenwich study tracked advanced apprentices who completed their apprenticeship in 2005/06 for four years by linking to higher education datasets. It found that 5.3% of the 2005/06 cohort had progressed to higher education immediately following their advanced apprenticeship; however, this figure rises to 13.1% when the same cohort is tracked for another three years.
	Source
	Smith, S. et al (2011) Longitudinal tracking of advanced level apprentice cohorts progressing into higher education 2005-06 to 2009-10 University of Greenwich.

Arms Trade: Israel

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the number of companies in the UK that manufacture weapons or components of weapons that are sold to the Israeli Government.

Michael Fallon: The Government do not hold information on the number of companies in the UK that manufacture weapons or components of weapons that are sold to the Israeli Government. The best estimate we have is the number of companies granted licences to export such items for the ultimate end-use of the Israeli Government. In the last five years 11 companies have been granted export licences for weapons or components of weapons, including ammunition, specified in entries ML1, ML2, ML3 and ML4 of the UK Military List.

Export Controls: Israel

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which UK strategic export control licences to Israel direct, and as the end use country, are currently extant; and what the nature, value and quantity is of the licensed goods and services under each extant licence.

Michael Fallon: A copy of the information sought by my right hon. Friend will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Export Credit Guarantees

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many credit or lending transactions were completed between UK Export Finance and companies seeking to export to (a) Mauritania, (b) Morocco, (c) Algeria, (d) Tunisia, (e) Libya, (f) Egypt, (g) Israel, (h) Lebanon, (i) Jordan, (j) Iraq, (k) Saudi Arabia, (l) Kuwait, (m) Bahrain, (n) Qatar, (o) United Arab Emirates and (p) Oman in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2011 and (iv) 2012 to date.

Michael Fallon: UK Export Finance, formally the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD), does not directly lend to companies seeking to export. Its assistance to exporters is principally in the form of insurance policies and guarantees to banks that lend to buyers who purchase supplies from UK exporters. ECGD produces annual report and accounts, which, subject to any commercial confidentiality considerations, list by destination market the guarantees and insurance policies issued by ECGD in the relevant financial years. The annual report and accounts are laid before Parliament and can also be found on ECGD's website:
	http://www.ukexportfinance.gov.uk/publications/plans-and-reports/annual-report
	As far as the current financial year to date is concerned, the relevant numbers are set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Country Number of transactions 
			 Algeria 2 
			 Kuwait 1 
			 Libya 3 
			 Oman 2 
			 Qatar 2 
			 United Arab Emirates 3

Export Credit Guarantees

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department has taken to increase UK Export Finance's lending to companies seeking to export where adequate credit is not otherwise available through the private sector.

Michael Fallon: UK Export Finance, formally the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD), does not directly lend to companies seeking to export. Instead it issues insurance policies to exporters and guarantees to banks that lend to buyers who purchase supplies from UK exporters. ECGD's role is to complement the private market so that its products and services can be accessed by exporters when the private market is unable to provide support.
	ECGD has introduced a range of new products, including a Bond Support scheme and Export Working Capital scheme to assist exporters obtain access to finance, and revamped its existing export insurance policy (EXIP) in order to support a wider range of exporters who are unable to acquire help from the private sector credit insurance market.

Export Credit Guarantees

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the net percentage change in UK Export Finance's budget has been since 2010.

Michael Fallon: The budget for the running costs of UK Export Finance (formally the Export Credits Guarantee Department) has increased by 5% since 2010.

Export Credit Guarantees

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprises his Department supports through assisting them in exporting British products to the middle east and north Africa.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) provides a diverse range of services to exporters, many of which are well tailored for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including in the middle east and north Africa.
	As I said in my reply on 26 November 2012, Official Report, columns 110-11W, UKTI delivered some 530 directly charged services last year to UK SMEs in this category. The number of UK SMEs indirectly or less intensively helped will have been some multiples of this number.
	UK Export Finance (formally the Export Credits Guarantee Department) provides assistance to exporters of all sizes, principally in the form of insurance policies and guarantees to banks that lend to buyers who purchase supplies from UK exporters.
	It has introduced a range of new products, targeted especially at SMEs, including a Bond Support Scheme and Export Working Capital Scheme to assist exporters obtain access to finance, and revamped its existing export insurance policy in order to support a wider range of exporters who are unable to acquire help from the private sector credit insurance market.

Industrial Development Advisory Board

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 22 March 2012, Official Report, column 66WS, on the Industrial Development Advisory Board, what progress has been made on the identification and examination of the key functions of that board; and what assessment he has made of how its functions contribute to the core business of his Department.

Michael Fallon: The triennial review of the Industrial Development Advisory Board's functions has been completed and the report produced by the review team is currently going through departmental governance and is expected to be published before the Christmas recess. A written ministerial statement will be made at that time and copies of the report will be placed in the Library of both Houses.

Insolvency

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations his Department has received on clarifying the law relating to administration expenses.

Jo Swinson: The Government are aware of stakeholders' concerns regarding administration expenses and of the importance of these provisions. We are following court cases on this issue closely. We continue to receive representations from stakeholders on this matter and welcome evidence on the effect of the issue in order to help us assess whether to make any changes.

New Businesses

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the average number of new business start ups was in each UK city in each month since May 2010.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the average number of new business start ups in each UK city in each month since May 2010. (130636)
	Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births are available in the ONS release on Business Demography at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/bus-register/business-demography/index.html
	This is an annual publication and the latest data available are for 2010, data are not produced monthly. We regret that the data are not produced at city level. The lowest geography level shown in the publication is district level. Parliamentary constituency level data are available on request.

Offshore Funds: Companies

Michael McCann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effects on UK businesses of companies who hold offshore accounts allowing only fortnightly transactions and withholding payments for sellers by up to three weeks.

Michael Fallon: The Government are aware that long payment terms and late payment can have a serious impact on the viability of small businesses and has been working with industry to assess the scale of the problem in the UK and drive culture change. We have not, as part of this broader work, made a discreet assessment of the payment practices of offshore companies.

Overseas Companies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what information his Department holds on how many UK companies opened new offices in South America in the last 12 months;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on how many UK companies opened new offices in South Africa in the last 12 months.

Michael Fallon: British companies are not required to inform the Government when they open an office abroad. The requested information is not therefore available, and to try to compile it would incur disproportionate cost. As a general principle, however, we encourage British companies to open offices abroad where the business case justifies this, as a clear commitment to the market concerned.

Overseas Companies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department holds on how many UK companies have relocated their head office abroad in the last 24 months.

Jo Swinson: A UK company's legal address for the service of correspondence, their registered office address, must always be situated in the UK. The location of any other administrative office of a company, or the country in which it principally trades, does not form part of the public record.

Secondment

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many individuals employed by (a) major UK utility companies, (b) Energy UK and (c) any related energy utility organisation have been seconded to his Department since May 2010.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not hosted any individuals on secondment from any utility or energy company since May 2010.

Students: Finance

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to reduce delays in processing student finance applications; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Government are committed to ensuring that students and their families get a high quality student finance service. The Student Loans Company (SLC) is responsible for delivering the student finance service, including its relationship with customers and the quality of service delivered. I regularly meet the SLC's Chair and Chief Executive to review SLC's performance and discuss how BIS can support SLC's efforts to deliver a successful student finance service. Officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills work in close partnership with the SLC to review performance throughout the year and monitor the student support application processing cycle closely. SLC is committed to improving its performance and has implemented a range of measures to improve customer service—including better staff training, simpler web-based information, advice and guidance, and processing improvements.
	Official statistics published on 14 October(1) demonstrate that SLC has made good progress in processing applications for academic year (AY) 2012/13 and is on track to deliver a successful student finance application cycle.
	(1) Higher education student support applications to student finance, England in academic year 2012/13 (provisional) as at 14 October 2012
	http://www.slc.co.uk/media/507316/slcosp102012.pdf
	The figures show that SLC has processed the vast majority of the 1 million applications received. 93% of the cases prepared for a payment where a maintenance support element was due had already received a payment and a further 2% of payments were either in the banking system or term start dates had not yet been reached.

JUSTICE

Community Orders

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been placed on the community payback scheme in each probation trust in each year since the scheme began.

Jeremy Wright: The table shows the number of unpaid work requirements commenced under Community Orders, Suspended Sentence Orders and Youth Rehabilitation Orders in each probation trust from April 2005 to June 2012 (latest available).
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			 Number of unpaid work requirements commenced under Community Orders, Suspended Sentence Orders and Youth Rehabilitation Orders(1), April 2005 to June 2012, by probation trust, England and Wales 
			  2005(2) 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012(3) 
			 Avon and Somerset 597 1,521 1,873 1,989 2,164 2,231 2,529 1,410 
			 Bedfordshire 293 753 837 1,041 1,118 1,114 1,067 532 
			 Cambridgeshire 540 1,352 1,519 1,595 1,741 1,760 1,654 718 
			 Cheshire 502 1,507 1,841 1,932 1,909 1,897 1,689 855 
			 Durham Tees Valley 752 2,121 2,760 2,653 2,005 2,019 2,238 1,096 
			 Cumbria 440 992 1,258 1,329 1,102 1,063 1,021 455 
			 Derbyshire 621 1,573 1,874 1,927 2,099 1,996 2,039 910 
			 Devon and Cornwall 910 1,583 1,690 1,628 1,779 1,607 1,639 797 
			 Dorset 297 767 786 915 890 842 763 352 
			 Essex 934 2,356 2,791 2,765 3,288 3,305 3,405 1,412 
			 Gloucestershire 226 627 740 725 661 615 632 299 
			 Hampshire 1,433 3,018 3,358 3,275 2,777 3,047 2,824 1,199 
			 West Mercia 496 1,255 1,537 1,569 1,886 1,601 1,574 760 
			 Hertfordshire 452 993 1,356 1,504 1,407 1,469 1,355 666 
			 Humberside 756 1,778 2,069 2,009 1,976 1,962 2,061 989 
			 Kent 869 2,258 2,862 3,082 3,209 3,088 3,059 1,395 
			 Lancashire 836 2,473 3,123 2,723 2,710 2,838 2,607 1,241 
			 Leicestershire 663 1,714 1,941 1,829 1,661 1,830 1,957 987 
			 Lincolnshire 308 844 975 901 1,038 1,027 999 447 
			 Greater Manchester 2,090 5,380 6,136 6,211 6,225 6,575 6,000 2,923 
			 Merseyside 895 2,589 2,864 2,784 2,904 2,835 2,393 1,106 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk 995 2,253 2,562 2,702 2,793 2,740 2,360 1,053 
			 Northamptonshire 275 871 1,065 1,016 1,217 1,293 1,356 573 
			 Northumbria 788 2,411 2,727 2,722 2,658 2,563 2,636 1,144 
			 Nottinghamshire 972 2,261 2,437 2,183 2,414 2,643 2,466 1,140 
			 Thames Valley 923 2,485 2,803 2,868 2,739 2,971 2,781 1,280 
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands 2,335 5,635 7,040 6,597 7,577 7,468 7,117 3,387 
			 Surrey and Sussex 1,084 2,809 3,693 3,829 3,905 3,759 3,521 1,663 
			 Warwickshire 267 707 958 844 984 903 774 345 
			 Wiltshire 264 754 775 921 744 826 738 347 
			 North Yorkshire 615 1,284 1,480 1,475 1,647 1,527 1,608 720 
			 South Yorkshire 905 2,317 2,763 3,091 3,326 3,272 2,981 1,321 
			 West Yorkshire 1,583 3,544 4,200 4,438 4,933 5,222 4,735 2,176 
			 Wales 2,232 5,584 6,342 6,466 6,725 6,950 7,266 3,425 
			 London 4,186 10,644 12,686 12,890 13,976 14,388 14,314 6,722 
			 (1) The Youth Rehabilitation Order was introduced in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 and implemented on 30 November 2009. Data was collected from 2010 onwards. (2) These orders were introduced for offences committed after 4th April 2005. (3) 1 January to 30 June.

Driving Offences

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many motorists were (a) charged with and (b) convicted of (i) failure to accord correct precedence at pedestrian crossings, (ii) failure to comply with traffic signs, (iii) speeding offences, (iv) driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs, (v) reckless driving and (vi) driving while disqualified in each police force area in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many drivers were fined for speeding in (a) England and Wales and (b) each police force area in each of the last three years; and how much was paid in fines for speeding in each police force area in each year;
	(3)  how many fines for motoring offences were issued after (a) an offence was recorded on a traffic camera and (b) a fixed penalty notice was issued by a police officer in each police force area in each of the last five years; and what the aggregate value of the fines was in each category.

Jeremy Wright: Defendants proceeded against at magistrates court and found guilty at all courts for selected motoring offences, by police force area in England and Wales, from 2007 to 2011, can be viewed in table 1. Charging data are not centrally collated by the Ministry of Justice, therefore prosecution data have been provided.
	Offenders sentenced to a fine, the total amount issued in fines and the average fine value for selected motoring offences, by police force area in England and Wales, from 2007 to 2011, can be viewed in table 2. Data on the payment of fines for specific offences are not held centrally by the Ministry of Justice.
	Data on fixed penalty notices issued for motoring offences, for the period 2007 to 2010, are published in the Home Office annual statistical release, “Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales, 2010/11”, which is available online at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/police-research/police-powers-procedures-201011/.
	The number of non-endorsable (usually £30) and endorsable (£60) fixed penalty notices issued, broken down by offence category are shown in Table FPN.03, while the number detected by camera are shown in table FPN.05. Data for 2011 are scheduled to be published in spring 2013.
	Data for 2006 and previous are published in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin “Offences relating to motor vehicles”. Copies are available in the House of Commons Library.
	
		
			 Table 1: Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for selected motoring offences, by police force area, England and Wales, 2007-11(1) 
			  Proceeded against Found guilty 
			 Offence/Police Force Area 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Neglect of pedestrian rights (endorsable offence):           
			 Avon and Somerset 91 41 72 71 70 87 34 67 63 65 
			 Bedfordshire 23 16 26 17 16 19 16 25 17 16 
			 Cambridgeshire 32 39 22 27 37 28 34 21 26 31 
			 Cheshire 21 22 18 15 14 19 20 17 15 14 
			 Cleveland 10 26 23 22 19 10 23 23 20 15 
			 Cumbria 64 60 52 55 65 63 57 49 54 57 
			 Derbyshire 45 33 30 19 14 45 31 28 17 13 
			 Devon and Cornwall 46 49 55 40 25 43 44 50 38 24 
			 Dorset 21 24 18 22 20 19 22 18 20 16 
			 Durham 52 31 26 12 19 49 30 26 12 19 
			 Essex 69 42 45 37 25 66 37 42 34 23 
			 Gloucestershire 11 8 5 20 20 10 8 4 19 19 
			 Greater Manchester 88 136 109 81 111 82 121 104 76 102 
			 Hampshire 40 50 38 43 21 35 46 33 39 19 
			 Hertfordshire 32 16 19 15 12 25 15 17 14 11 
			 Humberside 26 20 62 57 49 21 17 57 51 43 
			 Kent 34 41 47 32 35 32 36 45 29 33 
			 Lancashire 9 29 71 43 63 7 25 67 33 58 
			 Leicestershire 16 16 27 24 16 13 15 26 22 13 
			 Lincolnshire 26 31 10 11 11 25 30 10 10 11 
			 London City of 7 9 4 6 6 7 7 3 6 5 
			 Merseyside 89 127 146 201 162 85 120 135 175 145 
			 Metropolitan Police 135 218 292 322 336 119 182 263 279 300 
			 Norfolk 22 19 12 11 10 18 16 9 10 9 
			 Northamptonshire 21 9 19 11 14 17 9 19 10 14 
			 Northumbria 81 69 57 53 48 74 64 52 47 38 
			 North Yorkshire 21 27 22 20 24 19 26 20 20 19 
			 Nottinghamshire 27 16 35 28 15 21 12 30 23 14 
			 South Yorkshire 56 59 60 76 46 52 56 54 65 43 
			 Staffordshire 21 36 14 16 17 19 24 12 14 17 
			 Suffolk 3 13 20 12 5 3 12 18 11 5 
			 Surrey 71 92 76 124 73 70 87 74 121 72 
			 Sussex 21 59 36 45 49 17 56 34 43 45 
			 Thames Valley 62 59 63 24 19 54 52 53 20 18 
			 Warwickshire 8 6 10 6 2 6 5 10 5 2 
			 West Mercia 29 29 19 19 10 23 25 14 18 10 
			 West Midlands 120 164 171 134 80 109 146 149 124 69 
			 West Yorkshire 86 82 97 81 82 75 67 77 68 63 
			 Wiltshire 5 3 9 10 3 5 3 9 9 3 
			 Dyfed Powys 18 19 6 9 14 15 18 5 7 14 
			 Gwent 15 14 23 20 30 12 12 21 19 28 
			 North Wales 11 12 7 8 6 7 8 4 7 6 
			 South Wales 71 39 53 30 42 60 38 48 28 37 
			 England and Wales 1,756 1,910 2,026 1,929 1,755 1,585 1,706 1,842 1,738 1,578 
		
	
	
		
			 Failing to comply with traffic signals not detected by camera:           
			 Avon and Somerset 15 22 5 2 — 12 20 3 1 — 
			 Bedfordshire — 1 3 2 — — — 2 — — 
			 Cambridgeshire 64 29 21 22 7 58 27 11 21 6 
			 Cheshire 15 10 6 1 — 15 6 4 — — 
			 Cleveland 10 7 4 2 — 9 5 3 2 — 
			 Cumbria 4 5 1 1 — 4 4 — 1 — 
			 Derbyshire 34 10 3 4 — 34 7 2 4 — 
			 Devon and Cornwall 15 12 4 1 — 14 7 3 — — 
			 Dorset 29 3 7 1 — 25 1 5 — — 
			 Durham — 6 1 1 — — 2 1 1 — 
			 Essex 4 6 1 2 — 4 5 1 1 — 
			 Gloucestershire 15 7 1 15 5 14 7 1 13 3 
			 Greater Manchester 1,479 626 2 15 2 1,392 602 1 6 2 
			 Hampshire 21 7 52 96 112 20 6 31 92 111 
			 Hertfordshire 196 14 6 11 1 181 10 3 5 1 
			 Humberside 97 4 1 4 — 92 1 1 3 — 
			 Kent 5 7 2 3 — 4 6 1 1 — 
			 Lancashire — 5 5 1 — — 4 4 — — 
			 Leicestershire 31 9 5 4 — 28 7 1 — — 
			 Lincolnshire 138 90 3 2 — 131 82 2 1 — 
			 London City of 77 16 1 — 1 71 13 — — 1 
			 Merseyside 356 45 10 4 — 316 34 7 3 — 
			 Metropolitan Police 523 83 35 20 2 465 58 27 11 2 
			 Norfolk 89 31 2 1 — 80 27 — 1 — 
			 Northamptonshire 2 6 3 5 2 2 4 2 5 — 
			 Northumbria 134 59 4 8 — 111 49 2 2 — 
			 North Yorkshire 5 5 5 3 — 4 4 4 3 — 
			 Nottinghamshire 2 3 13 10 1 2 1 8 5 1 
			 South Yorkshire 153 51 5 5 — 137 48 1 4 — 
			 Staffordshire 3 13 2 4 — 3 10 1 — — 
			 Suffolk 44 4 3 — — 37 3 3 — — 
			 Surrey 491 322 — 2 — 457 297 — — — 
			 Sussex 53 44 4 1 — 43 39 3 1 — 
			 Thames Valley 178 11 4 5 — 144 6 2 5 — 
			 Warwickshire 1 3 — 1 — — 3 — 1 — 
			 West Mercia 10 8 1 2 — 7 3 — 1 — 
			 West Midlands 483 304 15 11 — 417 255 10 7 — 
			 West Yorkshire 463 420 4 1 — 394 368 4 — — 
			 Wiltshire 31 5 1 — 1 29 3 — — 1 
			 Dyfed Powys 153 99 — 1 — 140 87 — — — 
			 Gwent 28 11 3 5 — 28 11 — 4 — 
			 North Wales 102 111 — 3 — 90 88 — 3 — 
			 South Wales 51 33 3 3 — 46 27 1 1 — 
			 England and Wales 5,604 2,567 251 285 134 5,060 2,247 155 209 128 
			 Speeding offences:           
			 Avon and Somerset 6,144 4,396 5,037 4,874 5,947 5,669 4,078 4,613 4,177 4,846 
			 Bedfordshire 4,562 2,816 1,989 1,455 1,245 4,175 2,492 1,901 1,370 1,164 
			 Cambridgeshire 4,366 4,315 3,543 2,657 2,625 4,055 3,977 3,359 2,502 2,455 
			 Cheshire 3,048 2,825 2,937 3,015 2,434 2,904 2,753 2,706 2,891 2,228 
		
	
	
		
			 Cleveland 1,349 867 595 775 1,281 1,168 764 527 685 1,153 
			 Cumbria 2,541 2,050 2,109 1,651 1,321 2,438 1,972 2,012 1,559 1,231 
			 Derbyshire 2,805 2,181 1,572 984 926 2,726 2,098 1,495 947 881 
			 Devon and Cornwall 4,228 3,041 3,024 2,231 2,161 3,835 2,821 2,807 2,040 1,973 
			 Dorset 2,465 2,151 1,735 1,996 1,864 2,112 1,844 1,609 1,726 1,548 
			 Durham 681 634 520 446 602 638 608 489 419 570 
			 Essex 7,456 5,644 4,595 3,772 3,653 7,104 5,243 4,079 3,523 3,454 
			 Gloucestershire 1,280 760 828 467 852 1,102 613 717 394 742 
			 Greater Manchester 4,776 4,039 4,494 7,121 8,756 4,448 3,857 4,306 6,838 8,428 
			 Hampshire 4,873 4,464 3,844 3,706 4,500 4,588 4,201 3,685 3,451 4,099 
			 Hertfordshire 2,823 2,527 3,550 3,271 2,557 2,357 2,335 3,283 2,880 2,259 
			 Humberside 2,655 1,497 3,497 2,925 2,887 2,152 517 3,272 2,689 2,711 
			 Kent 3,282 2,248 3,058 3,665 3,260 3,140 1,934 2,672 3,203 3,094 
			 Lancashire 7,852 7,566 6,223 4,853 5,081 7,290 7,156 5,758 4,569 4,776 
			 Leicestershire 1,964 2,758 3,030 2,255 1,631 1,748 2,461 2,630 1,907 1,455 
			 Lincolnshire 3,777 3,954 3,431 2,345 2,922 3,668 3,854 3,333 2,269 2,821 
			 London City of 665 570 539 345 926 434 550 508 324 734 
			 Merseyside 3,195 2,208 1,768 2,877 2,712 2,963 2,041 1,649 2,577 2,458 
			 Metropolitan Police 6,181 10,353 10,191 9,316 9,493 5,687 9,841 9,694 8,887 9,028 
			 Norfolk 2,740 2,630 2,683 2,892 2,306 2,643 2,544 2,616 2,800 2,155 
			 Northamptonshire 2,950 1,655 1,502 1,539 965 2,902 1,582 1,360 1,372 853 
			 Northumbria 3,886 3,470 2,833 3,160 2,557 3,534 3,230 2,713 2,992 2,418 
			 North Yorkshire 2,034 3,044 2,245 1,644 1,543 1,942 2,980 2,197 1,610 1,496 
			 Nottinghamshire 3,457 2,967 3,191 2,905 2,769 3,333 2,848 2,974 2,742 2,600 
			 South Yorkshire 4,301 1,647 1,717 2,975 3,548 4,092 1,503 1,608 2,668 3,198 
			 Staffordshire 4,514 3,415 2,941 3,492 3,161 4,303 3,131 2,689 3,229 2,897 
			 Suffolk 3,784 4,055 3,846 2,380 3,308 3,300 3,595 3,499 1,998 2,775 
			 Surrey 3,586 2,887 2,732 2,274 2,771 3,435 2,779 2,612 2,201 2,682 
			 Sussex 4,313 3,273 3,035 2,819 2,612 3,894 3,055 2,904 2,692 2,491 
			 Thames Valley 6,086 4,809 6,550 5,856 5,544 5,670 4,494 6,169 5,441 5,038 
			 Warwickshire 1,339 1,015 1,343 2,146 3,121 1,253 958 1,251 1,864 2,602 
			 West Mercia 2,904 2,473 2,022 2,788 2,911 2,615 2,231 1,896 2,618 2,710 
			 West Midlands 4,955 4,056 5,173 5,166 2,722 4,493 3,674 4,249 4,113 2,300 
			 West Yorkshire 5,787 4,828 5,360 4,959 4,087 5,416 4,527 4,991 4,531 3,739 
			 Wiltshire 5,707 4,925 5,600 5,034 1,018 4,918 4,070 4,565 3,759 871 
			 Dyfed Powys 1,088 1,345 1,097 1,151 1,330 920 1,113 1,008 994 1,161 
			 Gwent 1,333 620 1,401 1,539 1,635 1,115 485 1,290 1,390 1,434 
			 North Wales 4,672 3,843 3,719 3,276 1,781 4,231 3,572 3,465 3,117 1,713 
			 South Wales 2,793 2,459 2,381 2,603 3,088 2,376 2,127 2,187 2,245 2,692 
			 England and Wales 155,197 133,280 133,480 127,600 122,413 142,786 122,508 123,347 116,203 111,933 
			 Driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs:           
			 Avon and Somerset 2,377 2,074 1,930 1,447 1,513 2,242 1,966 1,850 1,375 1,448 
			 Bedfordshire 1,008 844 755 633 587 963 805 716 614 563 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,185 1,056 946 867 757 1,150 1,021 905 815 724 
			 Cheshire 1,731 1,533 1,556 1,350 1,329 1,662 1,487 1,501 1,305 1,280 
			 Cleveland 899 945 862 669 571 865 920 826 648 552 
			 Cumbria 791 711 628 508 464 772 690 614 489 451 
			 Derbyshire 1,360 1,155 1,096 869 816 1,316 1,118 1,076 844 787 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,234 2,146 2,008 1,624 1,604 2,140 2,054 1,911 1,554 1,530 
			 Dorset 1,211 1,060 901 719 726 1,109 986 848 668 684 
			 Durham 958 837 815 652 584 933 809 793 633 572 
			 Essex 2,447 2,314 2,416 1,751 1,537 2,353 2,226 2,332 1,693 1,494 
		
	
	
		
			 Gloucestershire 729 763 750 574 593 686 741 718 556 566 
			 Greater Manchester 4,202 3,633 3,525 2,790 2,473 4,051 3,524 3,412 2,693 2,380 
			 Hampshire 2,873 2,642 2,404 2,105 1,901 2,765 2,527 2,280 2,006 1,830 
			 Hertfordshire 1,787 1,579 1,602 1,299 1,133 1,703 1,503 1,525 1,256 1,090 
			 Humberside 962 540 1,123 905 891 915 497 1,083 876 848 
			 Kent 2,678 2,400 2,143 1,718 1,593 2,569 2,293 2,050 1,640 1,534 
			 Lancashire 2,602 2,367 2,182 1,702 1,524 2,439 2,265 2,079 1,610 1,435 
			 Leicestershire 1,466 1,236 1,168 966 893 1,384 1,172 1,116 930 856 
			 Lincolnshire 1,188 1,136 1,001 751 730 1,136 1,087 955 728 712 
			 London City of 194 130 103 119 131 177 120 95 111 122 
			 Merseyside 2,385 1,904 1,855 1,371 1,317 2,269 1,838 1,771 1,293 1,253 
			 Metropolitan Police 12,078 11,155 10,582 8,605 7,359 11,317 10,587 9,933 7,914 6,885 
			 Norfolk 1,173 1,027 895 737 726 1,119 988 867 708 700 
			 Northamptonshire 849 936 901 775 771 807 894 854 738 733 
			 Northumbria 2,357 2,195 2,037 1,544 1,420 2,213 2,101 1,928 1,460 1,350 
			 North Yorkshire 1,128 1,056 1,093 858 776 1,094 1,029 1,059 836 748 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,470 1,467 1,431 1,097 982 1,400 1,406 1,376 1,058 935 
			 South Yorkshire 1,919 1,857 1,806 1,262 1,152 1,851 1,772 1,734 1,201 1,098 
			 Staffordshire 1,590 1,513 1,411 1,080 1,058 1,520 1,460 1,373 1,030 1,020 
			 Suffolk 1,012 863 834 600 661 963 833 800 585 637 
			 Surrey 1,460 1,323 1,239 951 1,022 1,394 1,273 1,194 912 972 
			 Sussex 2,357 2,098 1,823 1,504 1,453 2,279 2,030 1,769 1,456 1,396 
			 Thames Valley 3,299 2,875 2,425 2,104 2,116 3,102 2,763 2,323 2,054 2,033 
			 Warwickshire 945 785 805 610 451 913 758 788 598 449 
			 West Mercia 1,779 1,613 1,517 1,308 1,350 1,708 1,561 1,473 1,259 1,323 
			 West Midlands 5,208 4,384 4,149 2,535 2,777 4,994 4,197 3,975 2,441 2,676 
			 West Yorkshire 3,347 3,011 2,805 2,122 1,838 3,131 2,824 2,666 2,019 1,739 
			 Wiltshire 768 668 592 525 507 741 630 559 507 481 
			 Dyfed Powys 872 768 652 564 543 814 728 632 548 529 
			 Gwent 1,047 969 820 529 618 990 909 786 506 603 
			 North Wales 1,225 1,061 1,012 810 692 1,194 1,021 996 791 668 
			 South Wales 2,434 1,802 2,096 1,600 1,629 2,334 1,742 2,038 1,547 1,565 
			 England and Wales 85,584 76,431 72,694 57,109 53,568 81,477 73,155 69,579 54,505 51,251 
			 Dangerous driving:           
			 Avon and Somerset 642 512 435 396 496 556 454 389 346 412 
			 Bedfordshire 247 246 218 190 162 210 198 178 162 142 
			 Cambridgeshire 573 512 530 603 548 511 462 470 527 479 
			 Cheshire 490 342 306 256 278 455 322 276 245 258 
			 Cleveland 235 278 155 151 121 156 142 111 120 104 
			 Cumbria 499 407 310 297 245 457 377 290 254 211 
			 Derbyshire 346 288 285 294 294 307 268 255 268 252 
			 Devon and Cornwall 785 789 684 697 634 689 699 584 610 539 
			 Dorset 186 154 217 201 189 156 125 166 133 134 
			 Durham 469 410 481 257 201 246 172 204 167 122 
			 Essex 1,192 870 946 1,016 796 1,035 776 799 888 704 
			 Gloucestershire 346 347 353 301 221 305 283 301 257 186 
			 Greater Manchester 1,445 962 857 779 724 1,219 804 765 658 656 
			 Hampshire 781 763 697 763 604 658 548 575 656 513 
			 Hertfordshire 651 421 358 368 414 563 386 313 336 374 
			 Humberside 295 132 316 337 300 258 123 298 302 276 
			 Kent 499 529 546 518 498 412 451 467 435 410 
			 Lancashire 602 460 348 362 371 491 354 293 318 335 
			 Leicestershire 519 462 387 385 328 436 391 289 238 217 
		
	
	
		
			 Lincolnshire 322 441 326 329 386 288 387 284 304 351 
			 London City of 55 48 67 110 109 44 33 52 76 84 
			 Merseyside 556 485 598 623 435 473 379 481 495 357 
			 Metropolitan Police 3,081 2,638 2,889 3,344 3,366 2,526 2,198 2,448 2,880 2,899 
			 Norfolk 538 508 429 380 341 468 408 364 345 310 
			 Northamptonshire 239 181 265 271 233 231 154 241 248 215 
			 Northumbria 753 586 506 453 412 643 506 433 397 360 
			 North Yorkshire 624 406 446 355 352 385 354 407 319 318 
			 Nottinghamshire 316 278 256 272 284 279 232 237 240 270 
			 South Yorkshire 479 370 457 461 381 350 320 401 348 293 
			 Staffordshire 655 696 715 582 468 563 605 569 498 412 
			 Suffolk 515 407 534 449 467 436 354 419 381 356 
			 Surrey 542 511 540 378 335 475 436 498 338 301 
			 Sussex 459 447 456 422 392 302 321 380 414 347 
			 Thames Valley 932 765 633 578 520 715 521 542 536 465 
			 Warwickshire 368 412 273 298 234 253 211 215 218 160 
			 West Mercia 1,298 1,324 1,136 873 678 802 679 644 564 415 
			 West Midlands 1,600 1,348 1,389 1,064 880 1,305 1,096 1,146 810 695 
			 West Yorkshire 1,026 980 1,058 958 822 874 807 891 841 709 
			 Wiltshire 490 424 489 370 325 291 216 281 264 241 
			 Dyfed Powys 443 369 301 261 245 313 235 205 180 162 
			 Gwent 173 138 161 88 123 142 108 146 78 106 
			 North Wales 445 486 451 391 378 300 342 352 353 331 
			 South Wales 1,305 919 1,123 973 870 636 411 441 374 361 
			 England and Wales 28,016 24,051 23,927 22,454 20,460 22,214 18,648 19,100 18,421 16,842 
			 Driving while disqualified:           
			 Avon and Somerset 585 455 426 245 232 561 432 410 237 223 
			 Bedfordshire 294 183 146 118 130 277 177 142 111 123 
			 Cambridgeshire 268 177 176 165 135 261 169 157 149 130 
			 Cheshire 323 229 224 195 158 301 217 218 189 154 
			 Cleveland 289 253 201 191 106 275 239 195 178 94 
			 Cumbria 184 127 83 69 73 175 117 84 68 66 
			 Derbyshire 316 223 229 143 109 302 217 223 131 101 
			 Devon and Cornwall 283 306 259 198 141 256 279 246 186 133 
			 Dorset 184 156 125 112 59 170 144 119 107 57 
			 Durham 278 189 152 138 124 259 186 144 133 117 
			 Essex 598 456 429 306 220 566 431 403 293 210 
			 Gloucestershire 91 117 89 75 51 82 115 85 74 48 
			 Greater Manchester 1,287 888 659 505 457 1,216 861 635 491 442 
			 Hampshire 480 479 316 278 199 444 390 300 255 193 
			 Hertfordshire 325 262 252 253 225 299 232 244 242 219 
			 Humberside 357 261 253 212 177 335 251 238 192 164 
			 Kent 460 393 398 322 258 417 366 372 298 239 
			 Lancashire 636 469 398 306 279 577 427 386 290 274 
			 Leicestershire 349 204 196 176 128 318 192 187 163 123 
			 Lincolnshire 203 187 166 102 100 194 169 154 100 99 
			 London City of 62 56 30 29 27 57 51 29 26 23 
			 Merseyside 650 454 364 244 233 614 430 352 238 218 
			 Metropolitan Police 3,703 3,172 2,582 2,085 1,679 3,503 3,027 2,446 1,912 1,578 
			 Norfolk 263 229 141 104 118 253 213 133 98 118 
			 Northamptonshire 157 146 163 158 121 153 137 147 152 105 
			 Northumbria 749 572 491 364 301 695 543 459 320 285 
			 North Yorkshire 174 161 145 118 92 167 155 139 118 83 
		
	
	
		
			 Nottinghamshire 522 361 281 228 165 486 346 271 213 157 
			 South Yorkshire 685 484 386 308 252 637 443 366 295 243 
			 Staffordshire 440 336 269 226 169 406 319 255 220 159 
			 Suffolk 219 125 115 74 78 209 123 110 72 77 
			 Surrey 233 173 207 154 117 214 164 201 152 115 
			 Sussex 420 317 282 256 165 400 302 273 247 156 
			 Thames Valley 573 457 373 340 263 541 434 357 332 251 
			 Warwickshire 164 126 99 111 46 152 124 97 105 41 
			 West Mercia 378 301 242 200 177 344 269 222 185 171 
			 West Midlands 1,614 1,067 931 628 639 1,518 957 889 595 607 
			 West Yorkshire 1,063 909 659 550 402 986 810 608 516 374 
			 Wiltshire 173 127 96 91 64 161 116 86 83 57 
			 Dyfed Powys 148 118 87 72 84 139 111 86 68 79 
			 Gwent 360 315 196 149 129 344 284 183 144 120 
			 North Wales 253 190 134 130 87 234 166 124 120 77 
			 South Wales 784 472 474 394 332 732 444 442 367 308 
			 England and Wales 21,577 16,682 13,924 11,122 9,101 20,230 15,579 13,217 10,465 8,611 
			 ‘—' = Nil (1 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Offenders sentenced to a fine, total amount issued in fines, and the average fine value for selected motoring offences, by police force area, England and Wales, 2007-11(1) 
			   2007 2008 
			 Offence Police Force Area Offenders sentenced to a fine Total amount issued in fines (£) Average fine value (£) Offenders sentenced to a fine Total amount issued in fines (£) Average fine value (£) 
			 Speeding offences Avon and Somerset 5,636 711,392 126 4,061 571,645 141 
			  Bedfordshire 4,157 309,687 74 2,481 241,374 97 
			  Cambridgeshire 4,038 539,616 134 3,962 549,347 139 
			  Cheshire 2,897 296,828 102 2,711 359,455 133 
			  Cleveland 1,159 130,398 113 758 103,978 137 
			  Cumbria 2,424 445,886 184 1,961 349,046 178 
			  Derbyshire 2,712 289,104 107 2,085 280,217 134 
			  Devon and Cornwall 3,803 561,159 148 2,806 506,473 180 
			  Dorset 2,088 217,501 104 1,802 233,091 129 
			  Durham 632 71,127 113 603 86,382 143 
			  Essex 7,078 702,000 99 5,226 676,365 129 
			  Gloucestershire 1,091 153,421 141 606 96,886 160 
			  Greater Manchester 4,402 465,087 106 3,827 489,045 128 
			  Hampshire 4,554 565,012 124 4,167 549,458 132 
			  Hertfordshire 2,350 278,490 119 2,327 304,664 131 
			  Humberside 2,126 260,855 123 480 76,416 159 
			  Kent 3,128 514,040 164 1,925 321,280 167 
			  Lancashire 7,253 728,544 100 7,088 820,935 116 
			  Leicestershire 1,731 249,543 144 2,444 348,536 143 
			  Lincolnshire 3,657 344,744 94 3,838 473,480 123 
			  London City of 433 54,405 126 550 79,901 145 
			  Merseyside 2,935 269,819 92 2,001 260,193 130 
			  Metropolitan Police 5,656 761,891 135 9,776 1,463,538 150 
			  Norfolk 2,618 421,906 161 2,515 437,663 174 
			  Northamptonshire 2,888 210,936 73 1,577 131,280 83 
		
	
	
		
			  Northumbria 3,484 356,641 102 3,179 399,325 126 
			  North Yorkshire 1,932 341,066 177 2,966 479,867 162 
			  Nottinghamshire 3,304 458,053 139 2,835 401,204 142 
			  South Yorkshire 4,051 396,010 98 1,491 193,888 130 
			  Staffordshire 4,291 617,582 144 3,122 442,298 142 
			  Suffolk 3,289 380,346 116 3,582 479,770 134 
			  Surrey 3,428 572,396 167 2,775 457,776 165 
			  Sussex 3,874 436,007 113 3,035 387,178 128 
			  Thames Valley 5,641 609,839 108 4,476 562,477 126 
			  Warwickshire 1,252 203,553 163 948 134,010 141 
			  West Mercia 2,593 386,705 149 2,211 350,933 159 
			  West Midlands 4,466 466,260 104 3,636 438,173 121 
			  West Yorkshire 5,368 631,124 118 4,119 583,135 142 
			  Wiltshire 4,897 878,691 179 4,055 804,406 198 
			  Dyfed Powys 918 108,808 119 1,111 143,167 129 
			  Gwent 1,112 120,283 108 484 82,179 170 
			  North Wales 4,226 388,130 92 3,560 421,677 118 
			  South Wales 2,369 245,825 104 2,105 246,700 117 
			  England and Wales 141,941 17,150,710 121 121,267 16,818,811 139 
			         
			 Failure to comply with traffic signals detected by camera Avon and Somerset 474 39,035 82 63 5,930 94 
			  Bedfordshire 133 8,521 64 211 15,450 73 
			  Cambridgeshire 11 1,640 149 47 6,795 145 
			  Cheshire 198 15,544 79 178 16,400 92 
			  Cleveland — — — 14 1,927 138 
			  Cumbria 12 1,105 92 27 2,970 110 
			  Derbyshire 8 830 104 99 10,671 108 
			  Devon and Cornwall 391 34,305 88 287 25,043 87 
			  Dorset 234 21,815 93 248 23,795 96 
			  Durham 5 285 57 21 2,345 112 
			  Essex 5 455 91 648 68,824 106 
			  Gloucestershire 60 5,118 85 20 1,825 91 
			  Greater Manchester 39 3,185 82 1,132 111,234 98 
			  Hampshire 66 4,810 73 94 9,360 100 
			  Hertfordshire 26 2,960 114 202 20,775 103 
			  Humberside 20 1,325 66 16 802 50 
			  Kent 4 570 143 18 1,768 98 
			  Lancashire 9 750 83 15 1,295 86 
			  Leicestershire 139 13,065 94 210 24,821 118 
			  Lincolnshire 34 2,490 73 46 4,535 99 
			  London City of 2,016 534,740 265 335 38,391 115 
			  Merseyside 68 5,090 75 165 15,831 96 
			  Metropolitan Police 1,011 98,015 97 2,454 254,798 104 
			  Norfolk 13 1,037 80 22 2,057 94 
			  Northamptonshire 157 10,758 69 174 12,723 73 
			  Northumbria 149 10,410 70 127 10,181 80 
			  North Yorkshire 13 1,444 111 50 6,008 120 
			  Nottinghamshire 1,062 103,865 98 899 99,840 111 
			  South Yorkshire 440 36,735 83 354 35,180 99 
		
	
	
		
			  Staffordshire 30 2,770 92 52 4,495 86 
			  Suffolk 26 3,063 118 12 1,155 96 
			  Surrey — — — 173 20,159 117 
			  Sussex 558 44,770 80 455 38,488 85 
			  Thames Valley 51 4,285 84 136 13,935 102 
			  Warwickshire 135 13,540 100 137 13,660 100 
			  West Mercia 137 10,800 79 109 11,777 108 
			  West Midlands 94 8,442 90 259 28,591 110 
			  West Yorkshire 140 10,265 73 237 19,463 82 
			  Wiltshire 128 13,640 107 159 17,376 109 
			  Dyfed Powys — — — — — — 
			  Gwent 1 40 40 23 4,648 202 
			  North Wales — — — 1 60 60 
			  South Wales 212 14,920 70 157 13,481 86 
			  England and Wales 8,309 1,086,437 131 10,086 1,018,862 101 
		
	
	
		
			   2009 2010 
			 Offence Police Force Area Offenders sentenced to a fine Total amount issued in fines (£) Average fine value (£) Offenders sentenced to a fine Total amount issued in fines (£) Average fine value (£) 
			 Speeding offences Avon and Somerset 4,587 712,595 155 4,117 656,867 160 
			  Bedfordshire 1,890 255,258 135 1,346 214,435 159 
			  Cambridgeshire 3,355 485,302 145 2,483 407,348 164 
			  Cheshire 2,697 423,288 157 2,862 470,478 164 
			  Cleveland 519 69,679 134 658 83,006 126 
			  Cumbria 2,009 348,715 174 1,542 298,759 194 
			  Derbyshire 1,492 241,933 162 926 152,396 165 
			  Devon and Cornwall 2,792 511,139 183 2,003 363,995 182 
			  Dorset 1,588 222,013 140 1,693 259,685 153 
			  Durham 486 78,669 162 401 64,626 161 
			  Essex 4,068 753,895 185 3,483 707,323 203 
			  Gloucestershire 712 122,892 173 380 66,850 176 
			  Greater Manchester 4,259 628,987 148 6,716 818,634 122 
			  Hampshire 3,665 570,336 156 3,400 561,264 165 
			  Hertfordshire 3,218 502,272 156 2,841 410,359 144 
			  Humberside 3,254 486,182 149 2,649 416,426 157 
			  Kent 2,652 448,315 169 3,150 514,947 163 
			  Lancashire 5,719 810,688 142 4,514 585,070 130 
			  Leicestershire 2,609 388,176 149 1,873 287,296 153 
			  Lincolnshire 3,316 461,533 139 2,241 309,691 138 
			  London City of 507 91,250 180 323 67,912 210 
			  Merseyside 1,627 234,781 144 2,529 358,298 142 
			  Metropolitan Police 9,649 1,673,357 173 8,702 1,730,896 199 
			  Norfolk 2,603 453,073 174 2,763 500,688 181 
			  Northamptonshire 1,355 179,960 133 1,329 171,752 129 
			  Northumbria 2,688 380,010 141 2,919 401,212 137 
			  North Yorkshire 2,192 364,789 166 1,583 287,082 181 
			  Nottinghamshire 2,953 443,888 150 2,696 422,300 157 
			  South Yorkshire 1,591 253,860 160 2,602 346,856 133 
			  Staffordshire 2,667 434,672 163 3,193 499,071 156 
		
	
	
		
			  Suffolk 3,484 524,017 150 1,978 312,163 158 
			  Surrey 2,611 450,048 172 2,169 395,312 182 
			  Sussex 2,896 470,687 163 2,641 423,756 160 
			  Thames Valley 6,143 906,380 148 5,367 873,826 163 
			  Warwickshire 1,249 218,079 175 1,848 300,994 163 
			  West Mercia 1,885 333,984 177 2,580 441,776 171 
			  West Midlands 4,216 623,300 148 4,001 598,944 150 
			  West Yorkshire 4,951 838,217 169 4,429 674,002 152 
			  Wiltshire 4,553 950,466 209 3,720 803,301 216 
			  Dyfed Powys 1,001 164,894 165 988 151,370 153 
			  Gwent 1,272 211,770 166 1,380 203,499 147 
			  North Wales 3,456 545,533 158 3,080 488,421 159 
			  South Wales 2,118 285,450 135 2,181 286,003 131 
			  England and Wales 122,554 19,554,332 160 114,279 18,388,889 161 
			         
			 Failure to comply with traffic signals detected by camera Avon and Somerset 541 50,478 93 447 41,818 94 
			  Bedfordshire 120 11,589 97 140 14,618 104 
			  Cambridgeshire 65 7,825 120 21 2,435 116 
			  Cheshire 193 19,633 102 231 24,541 106 
			  Cleveland 277 51,193 185 286 46,834 164 
			  Cumbria 37 3,747 101 41 4,074 99 
			  Derbyshire 130 16,775 129 45 6,091 135 
			  Devon and Cornwall 251 25,507 102 171 16,680 98 
			  Dorset 316 32,490 103 422 42,128 100 
			  Durham 17 1,551 91 11 930 85 
			  Essex 745 81,868 110 675 74,880 111 
			  Gloucestershire 34 3,051 90 36 3,060 85 
			  Greater Manchester 2,091 206,761 99 2,068 193,647 94 
			  Hampshire 557 55,546 100 306 29,213 95 
			  Hertfordshire 314 33,608 107 358 37,650 105 
			  Humberside 87 8,639 99 120 12,541 105 
			  Kent 32 3,615 113 41 5,037 123 
			  Lancashire 18 1,340 74 7 870 124 
			  Leicestershire 408 42,604 104 537 61,252 114 
			  Lincolnshire 44 4,457 101 20 2,040 102 
			  London City of 36 5,528 154 39 4,800 123 
			  Merseyside 162 16,269 100 261 26,214 100 
			  Metropolitan Police 3,025 365,102 121 2,551 309,075 121 
			  Norfolk 14 1,810 129 15 1,670 111 
			  Northamptonshire 175 17,819 102 114 13,047 114 
			  Northumbria 68 7,576 111 116 11,005 95 
			  North Yorkshire 32 4,214 132 14 1,815 130 
			  Nottinghamshire 1,144 150,266 131 1,056 143,559 136 
			  South Yorkshire 412 43,239 105 473 48,538 103 
			  Staffordshire 52 4,991 96 103 11,646 113 
			  Suffolk 4 485 121 13 1,445 111 
			  Surrey 473 47,845 101 394 43,250 110 
			  Sussex 487 51,242 105 656 67,330 103 
			  Thames Valley 134 15,458 115 165 18,883 114 
		
	
	
		
			  Warwickshire 166 19,355 117 186 19,643 106 
			  West Mercia 111 12,620 114 161 18,445 115 
			  West Midlands 763 91,541 120 728 77,507 106 
			  West Yorkshire 288 27,930 97 356 35,785 101 
			  Wiltshire 127 12,167 96 97 10,609 109 
			  Dyfed Powys 24 2,170 90 56 5,090 91 
			  Gwent 107 46,220 432 55 5,235 95 
			  North Wales 25 2,385 95 28 2,860 102 
			  South Wales 329 33,260 101 348 36,072 104 
			  England and Wales 14,435 1,641,769 114 13,968 1,533,862 110 
			         
		
	
	
		
			   2011 
			 Offence Police Force Area Offenders sentenced to a fine Total amount issued in fines (£) Average fine value (£) 
			 Speeding offences Avon and Somerset 4,797 926,733 193 
			  Bedfordshire 1,141 184,159 161 
			  Cambridgeshire 2,433 426,211 175 
			  Cheshire 2,180 372,559 171 
			  Cleveland 1,129 150,390 133 
			  Cumbria 1,212 230,429 190 
			  Derbyshire 854 143,399 168 
			  Devon and Cornwall 1,944 346,471 178 
			  Dorset 1,510 268,194 178 
			  Durham 554 88,778 160 
			  Essex 3,397 658,479 194 
			  Gloucestershire 723 123,815 171 
			  Greater Manchester 8,309 1,019,384 123 
			  Hampshire 4,055 676,759 167 
			  Hertfordshire 2,221 355,047 160 
			  Humberside 2,679 384,076 143 
			  Kent 3,033 474,602 156 
			  Lancashire 4,694 596,930 127 
			  Leicestershire 1,416 242,254 171 
			  Lincolnshire 2,797 401,931 144 
			  London City of 732 139,991 191 
			  Merseyside 2,411 376,715 156 
			  Metropolitan Police 8,857 1,774,446 200 
			  Norfolk 2,136 404,033 189 
			  Northamptonshire 820 113,675 139 
			  Northumbria 2,343 310,687 133 
			  North Yorkshire 1,477 247,649 168 
			  Nottinghamshire 2,551 389,826 153 
			  South Yorkshire 3,133 381,216 122 
			  Staffordshire 2,859 479,715 168 
			  Suffolk 2,749 470,032 171 
			  Surrey 2,640 454,565 172 
			  Sussex 2,449 446,937 182 
			  Thames Valley 4,982 860,278 173 
			  Warwickshire 2,583 388,787 151 
			  West Mercia 2,678 450,869 168 
			  West Midlands 2,200 339,421 154 
			  West Yorkshire 3,654 614,308 168 
			  Wiltshire 856 223,235 261 
			  Dyfed Powys 1,153 178,499 155 
			  Gwent 1,414 201,206 142 
			  North Wales 1,696 255,365 151 
			  South Wales 2,647 320,180 121 
			  England and Wales 110,098 17,892,235 163 
			      
			 Failure to comply with traffic signals detected by camera Avon and Somerset 249 24,920 100 
			  Bedfordshire 115 11,675 102 
			  Cambridgeshire 25 3,435 137 
			  Cheshire 233 24,820 107 
			  Cleveland 295 47,644 162 
			  Cumbria 18 2,105 117 
			  Derbyshire 15 2,287 152 
			  Devon and Cornwall 114 10,686 94 
		
	
	
		
			  Dorset 511 51,076 100 
			  Durham 20 2,500 125 
			  Essex 313 35,335 113 
			  Gloucestershire 26 2,423 93 
			  Greater Manchester 1,963 196,798 100 
			  Hampshire 372 38,095 102 
			  Hertfordshire 201 24,583 122 
			  Humberside 104 11,215 108 
			  Kent 30 3,274 109 
			  Lancashire 5 395 79 
			  Leicestershire 423 48,092 114 
			  Lincolnshire 30 3,255 109 
			  London City of 585 80,390 137 
			  Merseyside 595 58,425 98 
			  Metropolitan Police 2,024 254,924 126 
			  Norfolk 15 1,695 113 
			  Northamptonshire 65 8,111 125 
			  Northumbria 197 20,075 102 
			  North Yorkshire 11 1,295 118 
			  Nottinghamshire 1,231 154,695 126 
			  South Yorkshire 342 34,932 102 
			  Staffordshire 69 7,045 102 
			  Suffolk 9 1,740 193 
			  Surrey 496 56,133 113 
			  Sussex 587 62,795 107 
			  Thames Valley 84 9,865 117 
			  Warwickshire 223 26,251 118 
			  West Mercia 305 38,071 125 
			  West Midlands 256 27,095 106 
			  West Yorkshire 136 13,920 102 
			  Wiltshire 26 2,615 101 
			  Dyfed Powys 22 2,285 104 
			  Gwent 66 6,785 103 
			  North Wales 9 905 101 
			  South Wales 171 18,699 109 
		
	
	
		
			  England and Wales 12,586 1,433,359 114 
			 '—' = Nil (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Drugs: Convictions

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of a drug trafficking offence in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Wright: The number of persons found guilty at all courts for drug trafficking offences, in England and Wales, for the period 2009 to 2011, are provided in Table 1 as follows.
	The common interpretation of “drug trafficking” covers the unlawful activities of unauthorised production, possession with intent to supply, supply and importation and exportation of controlled drugs. This is in line with the definition used in the Drug Trafficking Act 1994.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of persons found guilty at all courts for drugs trafficking offences, England and Wales, 2009 to 2011(1, 2) 
			  Persons found guilty 
			 Offence description 2009 2010 2011 
			 Unlawful importation of a drug controlled under misuse of Drugs Act 1971 769 611 636 
			 Unlawful exportation of a drug controlled under misuse of Drugs Act 1971 31 21 30 
			 Production of or being concerned in the production of a controlled drug 4,107 6,163 6,419 
			 Having possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply 6,349 7,353 6,881 
			 Supplying or offering to supply (or being concerned in supplying or offering to supply) a controlled drug. 3,778 3,816 3,758 
			 Having a controlled drug in possession on a ship; Being knowingly concerned in the carrying or concealing of a controlled drug on a ship 0 2 2 
			 Concealing or transferring the proceeds of drug trafficking; Assisting another person to retain the benefit of drug trafficking; Acquisition, possession or use of proceeds of drug trafficking 1 3 1 
			     
			 Total drugs trafficking offences 15,035 17,969 17,727 
		
	
	
		
			 (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Employment Tribunals Service

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employment tribunal cases have been brought against businesses in (a) Suffolk, (b) Bury St Edmunds constituency and (c) England and Wales in each of the last three years.

Helen Grant: The Ministry of Justice publishes, annually and quarterly, Official Statistics on tribunal workloads, including data on national receipts and disposals in the employment tribunals system.
	This published data on new claim receipts for employment tribunals are not broken down by geographical locations. However, it is possible to interrogate Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service's case management systems to produce management information on workloads by reference to, among other criteria, the postcodes of respondent employers in ‘live’ (or recently disposed of) employment tribunal proceedings.
	Save where an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal is lodged, case records (including electronic case management entries) are archived a year after the point of disposal. Once archived, statistical data are retained but anonymised. Therefore, it is no longer possible to retrieve data by reference to party details, including address details of the respondent employers involved. It is however possible to identify claims in England and Wales, and claims in Scotland.
	Using management information for the last complete and available reporting period (November 2011 to June 2012), 480 claims were accepted by the Employment Tribunal Office in Bury St Edmunds (the office covering the geographical area in question) where the respondent employer's address was listed in the county of Suffolk; and 98 claims were accepted by that office where the respondent employer's address was listed in the constituency of Bury St Edmunds. In relation to the jurisdiction of England and Wales, the information sought is set out in the following table. This information is held centrally and can be requested after records have been archived.
	
		
			 Receipts for England and Wales for the last three financial years 
			 Claims accepted 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 England and Wales 213,300 200,500 141,400 
		
	
	For the purposes of answering this question, we have assumed that the county is coterminous with postcode districts IP1 to IP33, CB8, CB10 and NR32 to NR35; and the constituency is coterminous with the postcode districts IP14 and IP30 to IP33.
	Management information for the remainder of the last available 12 month period (July, August and September 2012) cannot be released under Official Statistics protocols until data on 2012/13 Quarter 2 are published on 17 January 2013.

Fixed Penalties

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many penalty notices for disorder in relation to the sale of alcohol to a person under 18 years of age were issued in (a) England and Wales and (b) each police force area in each year since 2009; how many of those notices resulted in an unpaid fine in each area; and what the average fine levied was.

Jeremy Wright: The total number of penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) issued for the sale of alcohol to a person under 18 years of age, by outcome, in each police force area in England and Wales, for the period 2009 to 2011, can be viewed in the table.
	The recipient of a PND has 21 days either to pay the penalty or seek a court hearing. No admission of guilt is required and by paying the penalty the PND recipient discharges all liability for conviction for the offence. If no action is taken within the 21 day period, a fine of one and half times the penalty amount is registered against the recipient of the notice by the courts. The courts are responsible for enforcing fines arising from unpaid PNDs, in the same way as any other unpaid fine.
	We can provide information on the number of persons who have paid a PND in full within or outside the 21-day period, but are unable to collate information on the result of the other outcomes listed in the tables.
	
		
			 Number of penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) issued to all persons aged 16 and over for the offence "Sale of alcohol to a person aged under 18", by outcome, by police force area, in England and Wales, 2009 to 2011(1, 2) 
			 2009 
			 Police force area Total number of penalty notices issued Paid in full within 21 days Paid in full outside 21 days Fine registered Court hearing requested PND cancelled Potential prosecution Outcome unknown 
			 Avon and Somerset 40 29 3 8 0 0 0 0 
			 Bedfordshire 29 26 0 3 0 0 0 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 15 14 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Cheshire 31 21 7 3 0 0 0 0 
			 Cleveland 44 29 8 7 0 0 0 0 
			 Cumbria 35 29 5 1 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Derbyshire 73 54 6 11 0 2 0 0 
			 Devon and Cornwall 93 75 6 11 0 0 1 0 
			 Dorset 34 25 5 4 0 0 0 0 
			 Durham 190 152 21 15 1 1 0 0 
			 Essex 67 43 18 6 0 0 0 0 
			 Gloucestershire 22 17 2 2 0 0 0 1 
			 Greater Manchester 98 67 13 17 0 0 1 0 
			 Hampshire 191 149 25 17 0 0 0 0 
			 Hertfordshire 14 12 1 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Humberside 78 57 12 9 0 0 0 0 
			 Kent 20 15 4 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Lancashire 199 129 42 24 1 2 0 1 
			 Leicestershire 125 112 0 13 0 0 0 0 
			 Lincolnshire 30 20 3 7 0 0 0 0 
			 Merseyside 100 70 14 15 0 0 1 0 
			 Metropolitan police 345 309 0 28 0 6 2 0 
			 Norfolk 17 12 1 3 0 0 1 0 
			 Northamptonshire 16 9 5 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Northumbria 38 24 8 5 0 1 0 0 
			 North Yorkshire 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 34 25 5 4 0 0 0 0 
			 South Yorkshire 244 175 31 36 0 0 2 0 
			 Staffordshire 31 22 8 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Suffolk 21 15 4 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Surrey 55 49 4 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Sussex 103 78 13 2 0 0 10 0 
			 Thames Valley 123 81 21 21 0 0 0 0 
			 Warwickshire 24 12 6 5 1 0 0 0 
			 West Mercia 25 17 5 1 0 0 2 0 
			 West Midlands 87 55 22 8 0 1 1 0 
			 West Yorkshire 139 96 25 4 0 2 12 0 
			 Wiltshire 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dyfed Powys 21 19 1 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Gwent 19 12 2 5 0 0 0 0 
			 North Wales 67 49 9 9 0 0 0 0 
			 South Wales 58 40 8 10 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 3,002 2,250 374 324 3 15 34 2 
		
	
	
		
			 2010 
			 Police force area Total number of penalty notices issued Paid in full within 21 days Paid in full outside 21 days Fine registered Court hearing requested PND cancelled Potential prosecution Outcome unknown 
			 Avon and Somerset 49 36 8 4 0 1 0 0 
			 Bedfordshire 9 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 25 22 0 3 0 0 0 0 
			 Cheshire 25 20 0 5 0 0 0 0 
			 Cleveland 37 23 10 4 0 0 0 0 
			 Cumbria 15 10 5 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Derbyshire 61 44 13 4 0 0 0 0 
			 Devon and Cornwall 35 28 2 5 0 0 0 0 
			 Dorset 18 10 4 4 0 0 0 0 
			 Durham 137 98 30 5 1 3 0 0 
			 Essex 22 17 4 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Gloucestershire 10 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Greater Manchester 90 66 14 10 0 0 0 0 
			 Hampshire 92 78 6 7 0 1 0 0 
			 Hertfordshire 12 10 0 1 1 0 0 0 
			 Humberside 32 26 4 1 1 0 0 0 
			 Kent 18 14 1 0 0 0 3 0 
			 Lancashire 147 122 7 15 2 1 0 0 
			 Leicestershire 78 74 0 4 0 0 0 0 
			 Lincolnshire 6 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Merseyside 66 48 5 13 0 0 0 0 
			 Metropolitan police 234 206 0 23 0 2 1 2 
			 Norfolk 10 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Northamptonshire 35 18 13 4 0 0 0 0 
			 Northumbria 63 33 16 12 0 2 0 0 
			 North Yorkshire 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 43 26 8 3 0 6 0 0 
			 South Yorkshire 174 117 20 25 0 12 0 0 
			 Staffordshire 18 13 1 4 0 0 0 0 
			 Suffolk 19 14 2 3 0 0 0 0 
			 Surrey 34 28 5 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Sussex 37 31 3 2 0 0 1 0 
			 Thames Valley 70 58 7 5 0 0 0 0 
			 Warwickshire 6 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 
			 West Mercia 29 16 6 7 0 0 0 0 
			 West Midlands 63 50 11 2 0 0 0 0 
			 West Yorkshire 144 103 24 5 0 0 12 0 
			 Wiltshire 20 19 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Dyfed Powys 13 9 3 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Gwent 23 12 11 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North Wales 26 19 3 3 0 1 0 0 
			 South Wales 51 35 10 5 1 0 0 0 
			 Total 2,098 1,589 258 196 6 30 17 2 
		
	
	
		
			 2011 
			 Police force area Total number of penalty notices issued Paid in full within 21 days Paid in full outside 21 days Fine registered Court hearing requested PND cancelled Potential prosecution Outcome unknown 
			 Avon and Somerset 27 24 0 3 0 0 0 0 
			 Bedfordshire 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 10 8 0 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Cheshire 13 8 2 3 0 0 0 0 
			 Cleveland 30 16 6 8 0 0 0 0 
			 Cumbria 47 34 8 5 0 0 0 0 
			 Derbyshire 72 48 15 8 0 1 0 0 
			 Devon and Cornwall 7 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Dorset 8 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Durham 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Essex 22 10 7 4 0 0 0 1 
			 Gloucestershire 12 10 1 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Greater Manchester 61 43 9 9 0 0 0 0 
			 Hampshire 79 63 10 6 0 0 0 0 
			 Hertfordshire 13 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Humberside 63 42 9 11 0 1 0 0 
			 Kent 13 9 3 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Lancashire 99 76 8 14 0 1 0 0 
			 Leicestershire 45 41 0 3 0 0 0 1 
			 Lincolnshire 15 12 1 2 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Merseyside 44 34 7 3 0 0 0 0 
			 Metropolitan police 169 144 0 20 0 2 3 0 
			 Norfolk 12 9 1 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Northamptonshire 22 18 3 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Northumbria 29 19 7 3 0 0 0 0 
			 North Yorkshire 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 16 11 1 4 0 0 0 0 
			 South Yorkshire 137 73 21 20 0 21 0 2 
			 Staffordshire 29 26 2 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Suffolk 18 13 1 4 0 0 0 0 
			 Surrey 36 33 1 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Sussex 24 18 4 0 0 0 2 0 
			 Thames Valley 48 37 9 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Warwickshire 14 6 1 7 0 0 0 0 
			 West Mercia 20 13 2 5 0 0 0 0 
			 West Midlands 30 18 8 4 0 0 0 0 
			 West Yorkshire 127 85 25 0 0 2 15 0 
			 Wiltshire 8 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dyfed Powys 17 10 4 1 1 0 1 0 
			 Gwent 22 11 6 5 0 0 0 0 
			 North Wales 29 17 7 5 0 0 0 0 
			 South Wales 51 40 5 6 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 1,546 1,119 196 175 1 29 22 4 
			 (1 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (2) Figures may not match previously published information following further validation of available data. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Legal Aid

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much and what proportion of the legal aid budget was spent on immigration and asylum cases in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how much and what proportion of the legal aid budget was spent on non-UK citizens in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: Legal aid spending on immigration and asylum in each of the past five years 2007-08 to 2011-12 was as follows.
	
		
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Legal aid spending on immigration and asylum matters (£ million) 86 87 90 80 60 
			 Total legal aid expenditure (£ million) 2,031 2,105 2,149 2,134 2,039 
			 Legal aid spending on immigration and asylum matters as a proportion of total legal aid expenditure (percentage) 4 4 4 4 3 
		
	
	Spending in immigration and asylum cases is on non UK citizens. Other categories of law are also available for non-UK citizens, for example, legal aid in criminal matters and public law family matters. However, the nationality of the legal aid applicant is not criteria for granting legal aid in these matters and therefore it is not recorded by the Legal Services Commission.

Prisons: Education

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the proportion of prisoners undertaking some form of financial capability learning during their time in prison.

Jeremy Wright: Information on the proportion of prisoners who undertake financial capability learning is not routinely collected.
	‘Making Prisons Work: Skills for Rehabilitation’, published jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, set out a programme of reform of offender learning. A much greater emphasis has been placed on developing the vocational and employability skills that offenders need in order to find and keep jobs in the labour markets where they will be released. We will continue to provide financial education in order to enhance the prospects of a prisoner securing employment.
	The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is also working with the Money Advice Service to enable prisoners to access appropriate financial advice. Additional opportunities for financial learning are also available through the NOMS European Social Fund Programme and the Virtual Campus.

Young Offenders: Body Searches

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many incidents of routine strip searching on admission have taken place in each public sector and private sector young offender institution for 15 to 17 year old boys in each month in the last three years;
	(2)  how many inadmissible items have been found during a routine strip search on admission in each public sector and private sector young offender institution for 15 to 17 year old boys in each month in the last three years.

Jeremy Wright: Data are not routinely collected on the number of full searches undertaken, or the number of inadmissible items found during a full search, in under-18 young offender institutions. Data were collected for public sector under-18 YOIs for the 12-month period from October 2011 as a short-term measure to assess the impact of introducing a new overall risk and intelligence led approach to full searching in under-18 YOIs. This included the number of full searches undertaken on reception, which is presented in the following table. However, it did not include private sector under-18 YOIs or the circumstances during which the full search occurred when an inadmissible item was found, which could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by scrutinising individual records.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of full searches on reception in under-18 YOIs 
			  Cookham Wood Feltham Hindley Warren Hill Werrington Wetherby 
			 2011       
			 October 107 802 218 99 54 255 
			 November 30 752 201 163 33 282 
			 December 27 285 180 127 27 180 
			        
			 2012       
			 January 25 248 167 97 41 256 
			 February 42 197 176 120 26 243 
			 March 28 172 256 186 33 277 
			 April 37 125 152 132 42 197 
			 May 39 164 172 185 33 157 
			 June 22 85 153 184 30 209 
			 July 26 63 189 194 41 185 
			 August 46 273 173 247 31 157 
			 September 41 108 173 158 47 130